Ghost Boys
by Kharissa
Summary: Hetalia High AU, multi-chapter. Gilbert has been just barely surviving highschool, existing as if he were a ghost. When he meets a boy who's story is like his, he finds comfort and someone to finally drive away his loneliness. But when issues from both their lives resurface, they are forced to deal with them together. Rated T for mentions of abuse, swearing and FACE 'family'.
1. Chapter 1

Push, kick, punch and a face full of blood. That's how the day normally started out for the awesome me, Gilbert Beilschmidt.

"Hey Demon-eyes! Give us your lunch money, or do you want more? You want us to lock you outside and make sure you burn? We promise you'll be feeling it for weeks, Ghost boy!"

The bullies would screech something along he lines of that every school day. There would always be at least one cut on my face. Presumably from me being smashed into the closest concrete object. In this case, it was the ground. I bit back a groan of pain and threw my feeble ammount of lunch money on the pavement, making sure it was far away. The same thing happened every single school day, because according to them my money was there to take.

I guess you want to know a little more about 'them', huh? Well, their names were Lovino, Roderich and my own younger brother, Ludwig. Yes, you heard that right. Mein bruder, mon frére, mi fratello, however you want to say it. And yes, you heard younger right also. My own younger bruder stood by while his awesome older bruder got beat up and would walk away with them after they were done, cackling like the other two. Which added insult to major injury. I would walk home every day, bruised and sometimes still bleeding, and the muscle-for-brains fucktard would pretend like nothing happened and I un awesomely fell or something. He would even ask me how my day was, even though he knew (thanks to him and his 'gang') that it was totally crappy.

Lovino was a hot-headed Italian that had it in for both me and bruder. I always told Luddy that, but he blew it off. He said that because he was dating Feliciano, Lovino's younger brother, he was safe. Lovino had a mouth on him too. I heard that he challenged a veteran crab fisher to a swearing match and won. You did not want to be on his bad side.

But the real ringleader was Roderich. Yeah, his name sounds stupid and totally aristocrat-y. Seriously, how can you be an aristocrat when that's not how the awesome country of Canada works? Anyways, he had been pissed at me before I started dating Elizaveta. But when she broke it off and told everyone that I had broken up with her for this girl named Lilli, that's when shit hit the fan. Ever since then, Roderich has been targetting me and me alone, and I knew why.

When my bruder and I came to highschool we started some shit with some people. This caught the attention of Roder-ick and Lovin-ew. They asked us to be in their group of bullies. Ludwig accepted, saying there's strength in numbers. I declined, saying that starting minor crap was fine but out right bullying was not. That was the first time I got beat into the ground, while bruder sat idly by and watched.

On top of that, I was also targetted because I'm awesomely albino. Which means that I have white hair, blood red eyes and skin that looks so pale I could be mistaken for a ghost. You see where the insults they hurled at me came from. Because of that and the fact that I was a target, no one even bothered to look at me. Which made for a very un awesome feeling albino teen.

Anywyas, after I got the stuffing beat out of me and stole every last penny- oh, wait here's one! Kesesese, the bastards didn't take all my money! Unfortunately for me (what else is new) one penny wasn't enough to get me anything for lunch. So bleeding and bruised, I picked myself up after the morons had left and walked to Breakfast Club.

I had quickly become a regular there, because it was usually my only substantial meal for the day. I would hardly call half a can of alphagetti's and a slice of bread nutrients, let alone a meal. The ladies there were nice, I guess. They made sure I got some meat, and when Joanne was there she would cook wurst for me. On that day, Sara patched up my wounds while I ate and gave me a lollipop. She said I needed the sugar to keep my strength up, like Opa would have wanted. Sara had been a good friend of Opa's before he... passed on.

I thanked the ladies and walked outside, sucking on the candy. Cautiously, I checked around for any signs of the Circus Clowns and their leader. Finding none of them, I walked into hell- I mean prison- SCHOOL! I meant school. Honestly. Anyways, I jogged to my to my horribly-dented locker. Gently, I put my coat in it and got out my science and math stuff.

Those classes were oh-so-conveniently placed at the opposite side of the school, so I had to run up three flights of stairs and down an endless hallway just to reach them. The bell rang, and I cursed under my breath. I would be at least five minutes late, even if I did run. So, guess who would have to clean the chalkboard after class?

After two periods from hell, I had had enough. I ran out of my math class as soon as the bell rang for lunch and sprinted to the bathroom. By the time I made it to the bathroom, my legs were burning from the running. I could barely see through the tears that had started over flowing. I walked into the bathroom and set my bag down. Sometimes I would hear crying when there was no one but me in there. Honestly I didn't mind a ghost being in the bathroom with me, but it did creep me out a little.

I jumped on the counter of sinks and slid backwards into the back corner that I had long since claimed. But, I couldn't slide in all the way. Confused, I turned around and saw a boy in a red sweater in my corner, crying. His sobbing sounded exactly like the crying I would hear in the restroom with me. I wanted to slap myself in the face for being stupid, but I figured it had suffered enough abuse. Besides, there were more important matters to attend to.

Someone was crying in my corner, and I had to find out why.


	2. Chapter 2

I spun around completely and loooked at the kid. He looked like he was in grade 11, same as me. I wiped my own tears and hugged my knees to my chest, trying and hide the random sobs that would escape me for the next few minutes. The kid was crying pretty hard. I knew what that felt like. Did you know that if you cry hard enough, you lose your voice? The awesome me didn't know that until I lost my voice after a partictularly bad day.

The kid rubbed his eyes and looked at me. He looked me over and just stayed silent, probably trying to figure out of the eyes were contacts or not. He looked jumpy, so I reminded myself that when I spoke to him to do it softly. I just hoped he could understand me throught the thick German accent that came back at times like these.

For the record, I am not German. I am _Prussian_. Our parents were half German, half Prussian. I got the Prussian side because that is the awesome side. As we already know, Luddy had no awesomeness in his body at all. Not even a little.

Anyways, back to the kid in the corner. He had seen me and was still looking, so that was a good sign. Usually people would take one look and run, or just not look at all. For those people, seeing the white hair and freakishly pale skin was enough. This guy was something else. He had stopped crying, so I took the opportunity to ask a question.

"Why are you crying?"

I had expected the guy to just wipe his tears and tell me. But apparently my question wasn't as innocent as I thought because next thing I knew I had an armful of the guy. I could feel my own tears slipping out again as I was bombarded by the thought of the Bitchy Boys. So, I hugged the guy close and we cried. Before you ask, it's perfectly normal for two guys to sit on the counter in the bathroom and cry on each other's shoulder. The bell rang and we lifted our heads up to look at each other. I was fully planning on skipping. My history and art teachers knew what I went through, but Lovino's grandfather was the principal so they couldn't do anything about it. However, when I skipped they marked me as present to make up for it.

"Y-you want to skip with m-me?" the kid asked.

"I was going to skip anyways, Birdie"

I saw Birdie make a confused face, then shrug. I guess he liked the nickname! We hopped off the counter and went to the lockers. I told Birdie to get his stuff, but yet again he was ahead of me. He was already closing his locker, his backpack on his back and the same clothes on. I slipped on my coat and we walked outside.

The air was cold and dry, but that was normal for November in Ontario, Canada. We walked for a little, not really caring where we went. But why Birdie was crying really eating at me. Frusterated with myself, I had to ask.

"Birdie, can you tell me now why you were crying?"

He turned to face me. I finally got a good look at him. The kid had amethyst-coloured eyes and glasses that framed them perfectly. His wheat-coloured hair was shoulder length and wavy, with one random curl bobbing at the top whenever he moved. I found that curl kind of cute. Same with the way Birdie had to blow it out of his face every five seconds. After about a minute of deliberation, Birdie sighed and gave up.

"F-fine, but after you tell me why you were c-crying"

"I promise on my awesome honour"

Birdie cracked a smile that was abruptly gone. We kept walking whille he finally answered my question.

"W-well... m-my father i-isn't very nice to me... and he belives in some pretty wierd shit. He thinks that i-if he beats the nice twin, A-Al will get the message to stop being so rebellious. B-but honestly... Al only talks to me when it's convenient for him...So I think he beats me j-just because he knows he can"

"What does he beat you with?" I blurted. With a sad smile, Birdie lifted his shirt. There was a bruise that looked like a hand on his stomach. There was a couple scars on his abs (yes, Birdie had abs) and a scar running from just above his heart to the other side of his chest. If that had been a little more well-placed, Birdie would have died. My fists balled at the thought. But Birdie wasn't done yet.

He turned around and took his sweater off for me to see his entire back. There was a fucking massive scar there. And when I say fucking massive, I mean it covered most of his back. Little circles surrounded the area where the main scar wasn't. I made a sound I hoped would be interpreted as a question, because for once I was speechless. Birdie turned around with his sweater still on his arms.

"A whole p-pot of boiling water... Papa didn't g-get to me in t-time..." He choked out. I lifted the red hoodie back on his body and held him close. Tears were streaming down his face, and people were giving us wierd looks. I flipped a few of them off and looked around for a place to sit. There was a park right in front of us with lots of benches. I led Birdie to the most awesome one I could find and set him on my lap. Hoping to calm him down, I stroked his hair. It was really soft. Remembering my promise, I launched in to my own tale of misery.

"I live with my younger bruder Ludwig-"

"W-where are your parents?"

"Dead"

Birdie looked at me in shock. "H-how did they die?"

"Our house got broken in to when I was seven. I heard two gunshots, and... I knew what happened. I ran to Luddy's room and curled around him in a ball, hoping to use my awesomeness to protect him. The murderer came upstairs, walked to the room we were in first and stopped. The bastard untangled us and cut my face"

I showed Birdie the faded scar that was across my right eye. he frowned, but urged me to continue.

"After that, we lived with grandfather Beilschmidt. He had a heart attack when I was fourteen, and... went to see mom and dad"

"Th-that's terrible! H-How are you living now!?"

"Luddy got a job as a paperwork person in some fancy offce. It pays enough to keep us in grandfather's house, but we go un awesomely hungry most of the time"

Birdie frowned again and hugged me. I wrapped my arms around him and continued in a soft voice.

"Right after grandfather Beilschmidt died, we got asked to join a group of bullies. Ludwig accepted, but I awesomely declined. So, they didn't like me. But when Elizaveta broke up with me, then they started beating the shit out of me. They take my lunch money, the losers. Don't they know that the mone just comes back through Luddy?"

Birdie lifted his head and gave me a soft smile. "S-so, have you had any c-crushes after that girl?"

"Um... I had a crush on this Russian guy for a bit, but he was... too creepy..."

Birdie chuckled and laid he head back down on my shoulder. I realised that we hadn't introduced ourselves.

"By the way, I'm Gilbert Beilschmidt"

"I-I'm Matthew Bonnefoy-Kirkland"

"MATHEEEEEEW!"

We heard a screeching rendition of Mattie's name that sent the poor guy cowering in my arms. I looked and saw that someone was coming.

It made my blood boil.


	3. Chapter 3

The person coming at us was a man with messy blond hair, bright green eyes and eyebrows that could block out the sun. His face was scrunched up in what I assumed to be anger. But it didn't look like anger, he looked more like a Muppet that had been forced to eat scones! I would have seriously laughed if the situation didn't include Mattie. Caterpillar Face tripped over a little girl, and I would have to thank her for that. While Muppet Man was yelling at her, I urged Birdie to look up so he could identify the guy.

"C-c'est mon pere..."

"Your dad?"

"O-oui"

My scarlet eyes narrowed into slits. So, this was the guy who had created all those scars on Birdie. I would have to make sure that didn't happen again. There was another guy running after Eyebrows. He wore something frilly that was oviously french, while the man he was running after was wearing what looked like a british suit. Birdie chanced another look and smiled when he saw the french guy.

"Who's the other guy, Birdie?"

"That's my Papa"

"You have two?"

"Oui... y-you don't mind?"

"Nein, why would I?"

We couldn't say anything more because Monster Brows finally got to us. I hugged Birdie close, making sure there wasn't an angle where Mattie could be hit that I wouldn't be hit also. Apparently the green-eyed monster didn't care. He reached out to smack Birdie but I caught his wrist and refused to let it go.

"BLOODY TWAT, LET GO OF ME!"

For the first time, the guy looked me over. My skin didn't seem to bother him particularly, but when he got to my eyes a look of fear entered his. I knew why. My eye were narrowed almost into slits, the colour was darker than normal and they were about as vivid as the British basket case's had been a few seconds ago. I had scared more than a few people off with that look. Birdie looked up again and immediately cringed back. He hid his face in my shoulder and it felt like he was trying to hold his breath. Eyebrows saw this and immediately smiled a very sadistic, mean smile.

"Mattheeew~" He cooed. My hold on his wrist tightened. I glared at the man, silently telling him to back off. But, he continued with his taunting anyways.

"What are you doing out of school, love? It's not 3:20 yet"

Mattie mumbled something into my shoulder. I looked back at the freak in front of us. He kept up his nice act, but I could see it was wearing thin.

"What was that? I didn't hear you"

Birdie lifted his head slightly off my shoulder. He didn't dare look at his father. "W-we skipped"

Eyebrows ripped his wrist from my grasp. I quickly wrapped that arm back around Matthew and shifted so I could protect him more. In the blink of an eye, Birdie's dad's facial expression shifted back to the constipated Muppet look.

"And you, albino freak, what exactly are you doing with my twit of a son? I didn't know he had friends" Eyebrows spit the last word out as if it were foul-tasting in his mouth. I glared harder and growled my answer.

"I'm protecting him. You will not hurt him while I'm around, schlampe"

"Have you been shown the scars, then? Interesting. Quite a fine bit of work, I'd say. But, that must be punished. Enjoy living on the street, Matthew, because I am kicking you out. Come crawling back after you think about what you've done"

With that, the british bastard left. Birdie's body shook with fear, and I could tell he was trying not to cry. I would be suprised if he had any tears left. I stroked his hair and whispered in my native language, hoping to calm him down.

"G-Gil... I-I don't understand whatever language you're speaking"

"It's German"

"O-oh..."

I felt a hand on my other shoulder and looked up. Birdie's french father was standing there, a sad smile plastered on his face. Birdie lifted his head up and smiled.

"P-papa... you stayed"

Frenchy sat on the side of the bench we weren't on. Mattie twisted so he could look at his father while still staying in my arms. I looked the father over and immediately saw the resemblance. French guy's hair was long and wavy, like Birdie's. His eyes were several shades lighter than Birdie's, but had the same light in them. He looked at me trying to cover his son as best as I could and smiled.

"What is your name?"

"How do I know I can trust you first?"

The french guy stood up and lifted his shirt, showing scars similar to Birdie's. I gasped quietly and insinctively hugged Birdie closer. The french guy sat down and looked at me, waiting to know my name. I blinked a few times before I rembered what I was supposed to say.

"I'm Gilbert"

"Ah... Je m'appele Francis. Merci beacoup for protecting mon ange, Gilbert"

"You're welcome"

Francis sighed and looked at his son. Birdie pressed against my arms, clearly wanting me to let go. As soon as my arms were unwrapped from him,he jumped into his father's lap.

"Papa... d-does Arthur really mean it?"

"I'm afraid so, ange... where are you going to stay?"

"He could stay at my house!"I blurted. Francis and Mattie looked at me in shock,then in happiness. I got a tackle-hug from Matthew, and this time it wasn't out of sadness. I smirked and hugged him close, totally forgetting Francis was even there.

"Ah, mon anges?"

Birdie snapped out of it and turned to look at his father. He was obviously happy; the smile on his face was huge!

"Oui, Papa?"

"We should probably go and get your things, oui? Et Gilbert, do you have any parents?"

"Used to... now it's just me and my un awesome little brother"

"Et will mon ange be safe at ton maison?"

"Ja. I will make sure nothing un awesome happens to Birdie"

"How long 'ave you known Matheiu?"

'Um... about 20 minutes?"

Francis was shocked. "Only twenty minutes and you're already offering 'im a place to live!?"

I shrugged and nodded. There was a smirk on my face as I watched Francis freak. He looked from me to Birdie and back again. His blue eyes were huge and his mouth hung open a little. I honestly didn't know why he was freaking out so badly. Yes I had just met his kid and offered him my place to crash at, but there was no other option. No way in hell was I letting Birdie sleep on the street. Francis pulled himself together and chuckled a bit.

"Well, now we should get going, oui?"

We all stood up and went to exit the park. On the way, I walked up to the girl who tripped Eyebrows.

"Hey... danke"

"For what?"

"Tripping that un awesome british guy"

"Oh... you're welcome! He looked mean anyways"

The girl went back to playing by herself. Her brown hair bobbed as she ran around, the red ribbons barely able to contain the locks. A soft tug on my arm reminded me what we were doing. I had said that Mattie would be safe at my house, and I hoped I was right. I didn't know how Ludwig would take the news...

Translations:

Oui/ Ja: Yes

Nein: No

C'est mon pere: It's my father

Schlampe: Bitch

Merci beaucoup: Thank you very much

Je m'appele: My name is

Mon ange(s): My angel(s)

Et: And

Danke: Thank you


	4. Chapter 4

Birdie's house wasn't far from the park, which meant it wasn't far from my house. We walked there in about five minutes. The house was... okay, I guess. It was blue with black shingles and a garbage bag taped over one window. I figured that was Matties room. Francis was walking ahead of us to unlock the door, so I could speak to Birdie without him hearing.

"Mattie... you sure you want to live with the awesome me?"

"Oui, where else would I go? Besides, it could be.. fun? I've never had a sleepover before"

Birdie was smiling when he answered, so I took it as a definate yes. I chuckled at the sleepover part, because it was kind of ironic. I was sure it would be anything but fun, with my family's tight funds. Not to mention Luddy himself. I still wasn't sure how he would handle another person to feed. Francis opened the door and let us go in, not bothering to shut it behind us.

"Amour, we 'ave come to get Mattheiu's things!"

"So, the ghost boy came with you, did he?"

Arthur was sitting in the living room, smirking at us. I growled and glared daggers at him. How did he even know my label at school? Did this guy stalk me or something?

"Oui, of course Mattheiu came to get 'is own stuff!"

Wait... that's what Mattie was called at home? What!? Bewildered, I looked at Francis and Birdie for some form of explanation. They both sighed and pushed me up the stairs, making sure I couldn't go to the living room and punch Arthur in the jaw. Damn.

As I expected, Mattie's room was the one with the garbage bag over it. The room was tiny, about the size of a huge walk-in closet. Don't ask how I know the size of a walk-in closet. Anyways, there was a small bed against the outside wall, a dresser across from it and a shelf containing Mattie's personal shit. I heard the door close and Birdie sat on his miniscule bed. He looked up at me sadly.

"Th-the name comes from the fact that when D-dad's mad at me or something, h-he can't remember my name. S-so, since he thinks I'm nothing more than a ghost at times like these, I-I'm Ghost Boy. W-why did that shock you?"

I sat in the bed beside Birdie. He was holding it together pretty well. I frowned at the floorboards while I answered.

"It's what I get un awesomely called at school..."

Unexpectedly, I found a set of arms wrapped around my shouldes. I looked at Birdie, who was hugging me. Probably attempting to cheer me up. I resisted the urge to hug back because it would disrupt this one. Francis looked at me with questions in his eyes. I raised my white brow, silently telling him to shoot.

"Gilbert, were you really shown the scars?"

"Yeah..." Subconsciously, my arm had wrapped itself around Mattie's back, where the worst of the water scar was.

"All of them?"

"The ones on his chest, sttomache and back"

"Ah... he has more on his legs. Some of them are from falling, mon ange can tell you which ones"

I nodded and Mattie stood up. He grabbed some boxes laying to the side and a suitcase. We all set to work on backing his stuff up. I was tasked with putting the shelf stuff in a box. At first I was just throwing things in, but a sharp look from Mattie stopped me. I sighed playfully and reorganised the box so the shoeboxes of stuff he had wouldn't be hurt. I noticed that he kept a journal. This was a pleasant suprise for me. I had kept a journal ever since mom and dad passed, and I had never missed a day. I figured that Mattie's journal should be the first thing he got out, so I put it on top. There was a bang from the other side of the wall I was standing at. Birdie groaned.

Then I saw a flash of hamburger-print pyjamas and an obnoxiously loud voice proclaiming that 'The hero was awake'. I looked at Birdie, slightly confused.

"Th-that's Alfred, m-my twin... I guess h-he stayed home 'sick' today"

I sighed and drifted to the doorframe. Birdie wasn't going to be hurt by his twin too. Hero boy gasped loudly from downstairs and ran back up so fast he was a blurr. He almost knocked me down, if it wasn't for my awesomeness. And Francis being right behind me. Alfred stopped once he finally realised he hit something and cocked his head to the side.

"Who the fuck are you? No, wait- give the hero a second to figure it out" The kid made a face a lot like his father's 'angry' face as he switched his brain to 'functional'. Two minutes later, he snapped his fingers and raised his arm to the ceiling. And managed to look like an idiot while doing it.

"YOU'RE THAT KID ME AND SCARFY MAN SEE GETTING BEAT UP ALL THE TIME!"

"...Who the fuck is Scarfy Man?"

"Ivan! You know, the hero's heroic sidekick and boyfriend?"

"No, I did not know that. So, what do you want?"

"Step aside, villain! The hero needs to talk to Ghost Boy!"

I looked back at Mat for confirmation. He nodded sadly and I stepped out of the way. Alfred walked over the Birdie and ripped his sweater over his head. The dimwitt gasped again and looked at his twin in shock.

"Y-you're not bleeding anywhere! But Ultimate Evil Destroyer said you skipped!"

I seriously wanted to bang my head on a wall and hope this dumbfuckery would stop soon. Instead, I started taping the boxes shut with the duct tape Mattie had in his room... I wondered why it was there, but I figured it was probably to keep the garbage bag over the window.

"Al... G-Gil protected me, a-and dad's kicking me out"

The king of knuckleheads blinked twice, then a huge smile nearly ripped his face in half. m

"SWEET! THIS MEAN WE CAN FINALLY KNOCK OVER THAT WALL AND GIVE ME A HEROIC ROOM!"

Put your thumb and index finger together, then raise them about a millimetre from each other. That's how close I was to snapping. Francis shot me a sympathetic look and rolled up the horribly thin piece of fabric that was Mattie's blanket.

"Al... y-you don't care at all that I'm leaving?"

"Nope! The hero wants his heroic room!"

Birdie's eyes filled with tears of disbelief. His twin just stood there, grinning like the dick he was. When the tears spilled over, Alfred punched his brother's shoulder and ran away laughing. I dropped the box I was holding and walked over to Birdie. He sat on his bed, trying to fight back the tears that were already rolling down his cheeks. Seriously, how did he have any tears left?! I though we got them all out in the bathroom.

I sat beside Birdie and pulled him on my lap again. He wrapped his arms around my neck and waited the tears out. Francis was giving me a wierd smile the entire time, like he knew something I didn't. It bugged the shit out of me, but I couldn't ask because Birdie was still crying.

With Birdie done crying but was still sniffling, we walked downstairs with all the boxes. Dipshit was playing a zombie game. At Mattie's soft voice he jumped about a foot in the air. He landed with a crash and I had to cough to hide my laughing. But the idiot didn't pick up on it; he probably just thought I was having a random cough attack.

"A-Al. I'm l-leaving now"

"OH MY SUPERMAN X BATMAN YOU SCARED ME! I mean, the hero was just attempting to fly, and there was no xing of superman and batman... eheh"

"R-right... by the way y-you really shouldn't leave your fanfiction account on, I-I can read you know"

"Yeah, yeah, the hero knows. You do have villainously high grades. So whadda ya want, Maple Man?"

"I'm leaving now..."

"And?"

"Don't you want to say a-au revoir?"

"Oh... See ya!"

Birdie sighed and wiped his nose on his sweater. "A-au revoir, Alfred. S-see you on Monday at s-school"

"Wait, it's Friday? THAT'S TOTALLY HEROIC!"

Birdie just shook his head and walked to the kitchen where Arthur had moved himself. I went with Mattie, staying close to him so I could protect him in case Catterpillar Face decided to try anything. I glared the hardest I could at him. That alone seemed to kill any ideas that bastard had been forming. He simply smiled and hugged Birdie. Then I saw something metallic-looking in his hand and ripped Birdie out of there. A small knife fell from the asshole's sleeve. He smiled a crazy-looking smile and looked Mattie dead in the face.

"Goodbye Ghost Boy. No one in this household will remember you, so it's almost like you were never here... funny. When you decide to come crawling back, you will be sleeping on the couch, and all your stuff will be burned. In front of your face"

Words could not describe how pissed I was. How dare he do that to my Birdie- wait, my? What?... ANYWAYS! We picked up the boxes and headed outside. We set them down on the front lawn so we could decide who was carrying what. Birdie looked at me with something in his eyes. I was still pissed as fuck, so I tried not to glare when I looked at him.

"G-Gil... your eyes are glowing"

"Oui... Es tu okay?"

I blinked a few times and took deep breaths to try and calm myself down. I sighed and looked back at them, my eyes hopefully back to normal.

"If I get the chance, that dickface is going down"

Matthew chuckled and hugged me. I could feel the blush- WHAT!? THE AWESOME ME DOES NOT BLUSH, NOT FOR ANYONE!...What the hell was this kid doing to me!?

"And th-thank you for saving m-me... again"

"Again?"

"Oui... y-you got me out of the house and didn't let me be cut"

"Oh... you're welcome?"

Birdie let go and smiled hugely. He picked one of the boxes and set his 'blanket' on it. I picked up the box of his clothes and Francis got whatever was left. The pillow, I think. We walked to down the street to my house, where Ludwig was standing. He looked kind of shocked, but had his ever-calm face on. I set the box I was carrying down to see him. He did not look pleased.

"Gilbert, who are they?"


	5. Chapter 5

I jogged the rest of the way to Ludwig, who was eyeing the two blonds behind me. I sighed and decided to just tell him; lying would only get me in more shit then I already was going to get in.

"That's Birdie a-"

"Real name please"

"Matthew"

"Last name"

"Bonnefoy-Kirkland"

"Middle name"

"I don't know"

Ludwig sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Bruder, you know our funds are very tight. And you know how little we can afford to have in the way of food. What will two more people do to our money?"

Francis jogged up and stood beside me.

"Mon ami, only Mattheiu with be staying et I can pay you for 'ousing mon ange"

"How much?"

"One hundred dollars a month"

O-one hundred dollars!? That was like winning the fucking lottery! That meant we would have more than enough to get... at least some lunch meat, and maybe something other than canned food. Both me and mein bruder looked at the french guy in shock. He winked at me in a way that told me he meant it. Bruder shook his head to get rid of the look on his face and looked at Francis.

"Deal... as long as he stays out of my way. I don't know where he'll be sleeping though"

I rolled my eyes. Wasn't it obvious? "He'll sleep in the basement with me, bruder"

Ludwig nodded and went to the door. I smiled at Birdie, who had walked up beside his father. We picked up the boxes and the bed stuff and headed into the house. Our house was nothing like Birdie's old place; we didn't really have the money to do anything with it since Grandpa Beilschmidt went to heavan. The walls were an off-green colour and there was hardwood floors as opposed to carpet. Birdie walked in the house and looked around. He nodded his approval and smiled at me.

"S-so.. my new house?"

"Ja... welcome home!"

Birdie chuckled. I led Mattie and francis to the door leading to my basement. We walked down the rather steep stairs and stopped at the door to my room. We set down the boxes, and Birdie looked at his father. Tears were already forming in both their eyes. They hugged and said their goodbyes.

"Au revoir, Mattheiu... I will send over the money as soon as I can... I know you will be safe here, and Gilbert, if he ever comes to visit you are coming with him"

"Understood"

"Papa.. y-you will come to visit, oui?"

"Every chance I get, ange"

"J-je t'aime"

"Je t'aime aussi, ange. Now, I must go... be a good ange, okay?"

"I-I will Papa... a-au revoir"

They let go of each other and wiped their tears. Mattie smiled despite the water running down his cheeks.

"Papa... I think I-I'm home"

Francis smiled and wiped his tears also.

"Oui ange... you are home... no more tears, oui?"

"O-oui... au revoir"

"Au revoir, mon ange. Et au revoir to you, Gilbert. I will run the money over hopefully tomorrow"

With that Francis went up the stairs and out the door. Mattie just let the tears roll down his cheeks for a couple minutes while he sat on the stairs... it was a lot to think about. I opened the door to my room and started taking the boxes in. My closet shelf was pretty much empty so I put Birdie's stuff there. I set his blanket and pillow on one side of the bed and moved my stuff over. The floor was too cold to sleep on, even for the awesome me. I didn't think Birdie would be able to take the cold of the floor if I couldn't. I was glad I had a big enough bed for the both of us.

Birdie walked in while I was putting his stuff away. He looked at one wall and just stared at it. I smirked and walked over to him. I slung an arm over his shoulders and looked at my pride and joy with him.

"W-what is it?"

"That, my friend, is the Prussian eagle. I painted it myself for my grade 10 art project"

"P-Prussian?"

"Yeah, Prussia! The most awesome nation on earth! Well... ex nation, but it was the most awesome nation ever to exist!"

"W-why is that?"

"Because they had the most badass army in the world, their king was the most awesome king guy to live, and I have roots in Prussia. Which makes it even more awesome!"

Birdie chuckled and stared at the huge eagle. He reached out a hand and traced a wing, murmering that it was beautiful. I blu- FICK ME I DID NOT BLUSH... the blood rushed from my feet and got stuck in my face... yeah. Anyways, Birdie tore his eyes away from my awesome wall art and looked for his stuff. I pointed to the shelf in my closet and he attempted to reach it... but he was too short.

"Kesese, can't get it Birdie?"

"Sh-shush and help me"

"What do you want down?"

"M-my journal... a-and my pencil case"

I got the items down for Birdie and flopped on my bed. He sat down a little more gracefully, softly lowering himself on his side of the bed. He slid backwards so his back was to the headboard. I felt tlike I needed to be doing something too, so I grabbed my sketchbook and pencil. We both worked on whatever until Luddy called us up for dinner. We went upstairs, and three bowls of soup were on the table. A huge grin spread across my face as I picked up my bowl and went back downstairs. Birdie followed me after thanking Luddy. I heard him give a grunt in responce.

We sat on the bed and drank our soup. It was chicken noodle, my favourite soup ever. Unless they made wurst soup. Then that would become my favourite. I should check that actually... eh, later.

After we were done, we took our bowls back upstairs. Luddy was doing homework... or paperwork. They looked the same. Birdie washed all three bowls, probably as thanks for the meal. Luddy was shocked, and went up beside Birdie as he was working. I hovered closer, not trusting mein bruder with Birdie. Damn, I hoped that wasn't jealousy. Not that the awesome me ever gets jealous.

"Matthew, you didn't have to do the dishes"

"Oui, but I wanted to thank y-you for l-letting me stay"

"Oh... um, your welcome then"

Luddy went back to whatever work he was doing and his brow furrowed. He was probably thinking 'What is this awesomeness that my awesome older brother, who is more awesome than me in every way, has brought in to live with us? Is this a sign to fucking do something when said awesome older bruder is getting beat up? Maybe if I actually do something, a little awesomeness will rub off on me and I can thank awesome older bruder for all the awesomeness he gives the house just by being in it'. And yes, I said that part out loud to him. Which got me a kick in the shin. But it was so worth it!

Me and Birdie went back downstairs. We laid down on the bed and just kind of looked at each other. There must have been a temperature change, because the awesome me's face got red in a way that was totally not blushing. The temperature was also affecting Birdie, because his face got all red too. I flippped on my side and smirked.

"So... tell the awesome me all about yourself"

"W-why?"

"'Cause"

Birdie smiled. "Th-that's not a valid reason"

"And? The answer I gave was too awesome for validity"

Birdie smiled again and looked at the ceiling. He gasped in shock/ happiness and I chuckled. He stood up on the bed and tried to reach the maple leaf I had painted on the ceiling, which was right above his head. He got on his tip-toes and managed to reach it. He traced the outside of the leaf and looked down at me. His amethyst eyes were so bright, it looked like the sun was shining on them. Gott verdamn, that sounded un aweswome. Anyways, Birdie sank back down on the bed and laid there, looking at the ceiling leaf.

"Like it?"

"I-I love it... h-how did you get it so perfect?"

"Because I'm awesome"

Birdie folded his hands over his chest and looked at me again. "S-so, you still want to hear about me?"

"Ja"

"O-okay... m-me and Al are from a surrogate m-mother. Th-the favourites were picked right away; dad liked A-Al better. But as we grew up, I-I never caused any trouble so Papa started teaching me french at a young age and started calling m-me ange. S-so, I'm biligual. Th-the hitting started in gr-grade 7, when I failed a math test-"

"By how much?"

"Um... b-by a lot... anyways, a-after that every time I did something wr-wrong, dad would... get out h-his knife and... you know"

"Why did he dump the water on you?"

"I-I skipped English class for a w-week"

"Why?"

"I-it reminded me too much of dad... but anyways, after that I-I tried not to skip, but today... I couldn't help it"

Birdie sighed and closed his eyes. He wasn't going to cry or anything; he was just laying there, breathing. His chest rose and fell with every breath. For some reason, I couldn't tear my eyes away from Birdie. He just looked... so peaceful. Eventually his eyes opened up and he looked at me with a smile.

"Sorry... I-I just feel... a lot better than I have in years"

I smiled softly and looked at my clock. It was 10, so I figured it was time to sleep.

"Wanna go to bed now, Birdie?"

"But we're a-already in bed" He teased. I smirked and got off the bed. I looked through the clothing box, found a pair of NHL pj pants and threw them at birdie. I took off my own shirt, but found one thrown at my head.

"Dont make me throw my boxers at you"

Laughing, Birdie turned to take his pants off. I changed into my favourite pyjama pants and turned around. Birdie was already in bed, huddled under his pathetic excuse for a blanket. I rolled my eyes and threw it off of him, replacing it with my blanket. Thank gott it was huge! Mattie smiled at me, his eyes slowly closing.

"Tired?"

"Mhm. Bon nuit, Gil. A-and thanks for everything... i-it's been one heck of a day"

"Ja it has... guten nacht Birdie. And you're awesomely welcome"

He smiled again and pulled the blanket over his bare shoulders. I smirked and turned out the light. I climbed on the bed and under the covers. I would write in my diary tomorrow, maybe before I had an awesome shower. I felt Birdie shift on the bed, and there was a little shaking. What was wrong?... Was Birdie afraid of the dark?


	6. Chapter 6

I sighed and sat up, patting around me to try and find Mattie. My hand hit the back of his head and he let out a yelp. I felt his head move and instead of his hair I felt the blanket. He must have wrapped it around his head like I used to when I was an awesome little kid. I got up off the bed and turned on the lights. Birdie was lying in the fetal position, completely covered by the blanket.

"Birdie"

He peeked out from under the covers and looked at me. He was shaking, and his eyes were huge with fear. I walked back to the bed and climbed beside him. Birdie wrapped the blanket around his head like a hood so he could look at the awesome me. I tried making my eyes as soft as possible, but I probably only succeeded in making them more vivid.

"You scared of the dark?"

"N-no... I'm not scared o-of the dark... its th-the nightmares that c-come with it..."

"Tell the awesome me about the nightmares"

Birdie removed the blanket from his head and looked at me with a frown.

"A-are you sure y-you won't tell anyone?"

"I promise" I smiled while saying that to see if that would convince him he could trust me. He sighed and sat up, hugging his knees to his chest.

"W-well, i-in the dream, I-I'm getting chased b-by Dad. H-he has a huge knife, a-and is chanting that h-he's going to kill m-me. I pass by P-papa a-and he's... he's gone"

"When do you wake up?"

"W-when Dad is about t-to kill me"

I couldn't stop myself. I pulled the blanket off of him and hugged him close. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my shoulder and neck. I didn't know why, but the only place I thought Birdie was completely safe was my arms. Then again, so far that had been the only place he was safe from Monster Face, so I guess it made sense. Birdie pulled his head back to look at me, a smile on his face.

"Th-thanks Gil, I-I needed that"

I smiled and held him a little tighter.

"Keseses, you're awesomely welcome Birdie. But, I still gotta turn out the light"

"W-why?"

"Because we don't have enough money to pay for keeping the lights on all night"

"O-oh... um, Gil?" The temperature changed yet again because Birdie's face got adora- fuck, um... he looked like the maple leaf on the ceiling he was so red! Gaaah... anyways, I shifted him in my arms a little and looked at him with a light smirk on my face.

"Ja?"

"M-maple th-this is embarrassing.. b-but c-could y-you hug m-me when w-we sleep?"

Birdie's head returned to it's spot on my shoulder and his body slumped down, as if he were trying to hide. I sighed and lifted his head up with my hand. He tried to look away, but I was so awesome he couldn't. He... looked like a strawberry again as he waited for my answer. I smirked (out of habit, it was meant to be a smile!).

"Ja, the awesome me can hold the somewhat awesome you"

Somewhat awesome? Really? No one, except for maybe the ladies at breakfast club, was even close to being a tiny amount of awesome! And suddenly Birdie is somewhat awesome? I think he was messing with my head or something. Unfortunately, Birdie picked up on it also.

"S-somewhat awesome?"

"Well, y-yeah... you have to have a little awesomeness to be in the house with the awesome me!"

"Does Lu-"

"There is no awesomeness in Luddy's body. I mean look at him! He's all muscle, and all German"

"A-and you're not at least part German?" He teased.

"Our parents were half Prussian, half German and I got the awesome Prussian side so Luddy got no awesomeness!"

"O-oh.. makes sense, I-I guess... a-are we going to sleep now?"

As an answer, I let go of Mattie and walked to the light switch. I made sure Mattie had gotten under the covers before I turned out the lights and jumped on my bed. I waved my hand around to try and find him in the darkness. Once I had hit his back, I climbed under the covers and pulled him close to me. I let him rest his head on my arm, while the other one wrapped around his waist. He turned around so he was facing me and moved closer to my chest.

"Th-thanks Gil... bon nuit"

"You're welcome Birdie, night"

With that Birdie fell asleep right away. I rubbed his back to try and help him relax. I didn't want him having nightmares. I fell asleep a lot warmer than usual, which was awesome. Halfway through the night, I woke up because I felt Birdie twitching. I held him closer to see if that would calm him down. I heard him whimper 'Papa' and I knew what was going on. I didn't know if waking someone up while they were having a nightmare was bad, but I didn't care.

"Birdie, wake up! Birdie, come on, snap out of it! You are too awesome for nightmares!" I said in his ear. I held Birdie close, but made sure he wouldn't hit me when he bolted up. I didn't have to wait long for that. In fact, I had just gotten out of the way when he sat up, gasping loudly. He flopped back on the bed, sighing quietly.

"M-maple..."

"You okay, Birdie?"

"Y-yes... were you trying t-to wake me up, b-by any chance?"

"Ja, why?"

"B-because as soon as you started saying m-my name you appeared i-in the dream a-and tried to h-help me"

I clutched Mattie closer... if that was even possible. Seriously, he was pressed so hard against me it felt like he was part of my body... and that sounded un awesome. Birdie snuggled in the same position we were in before and fell asleep again, this time not having any nightmares. I fell asleep a couple hours later.

We were awoken by mein bruder shouting down that breakfast was ready. Birdie's eyes opened and looked at my blood-red eyes. I still didn't know how they didn't scare him. They were enough to scare everyone else away, so why not Birdie? He must have noticed that my face pulled down into a frown because he poked my cheek.

"W-what's wrong Gil? Something bothering you?"

"Nein. You need to shower or anything before we go upstairs?"

"N-no... h-how about you?"

"I'll be right back, awesomeness needs to be clean!"

Birdie sat up so I could get my arm out from under his head. I hopped out of bed and grabbed a towel. I walked to the bathroom in the basement and turned on the hot water, not bothering to shut the door. It was only Birdie down here after all, and he was bound to see me naked some time!

The hot water ran over my back and relaxed the muscles there. Yesterday had been a pretty weird day, so it was no wonder my shoulders were tight. I hummed to myself while I soaped and thought on what I could write in my diary of an awesome kid. Birdie walked past the door and peeked in, immediately covering his eyes. KESESESESE!

"G-Gil... you left th-the door open"

"Ja, and?"

"Well... um, n-nothing I guess. L-Ludwig wanted m-me to tell you someone's here f-for you"

"Go check if it's Francis. But be awesomely sneaky, if its an italian-looking guy with a curl sticking out of his forehead or a guy with a mole and a purple coat and glasses don't talk to them or let them see you, okay?"

"G-got it"

Birdie left and probably went up the stairs. The kid was so damned quiet I couldn't hear him! He must have had some ninja blood in him somewhere... I have to ask Francis about that. I turned off the shower and wrapped the towel around my waist. I walked back to the bedroom and threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater. There were two sets of footsteps coming down the stairs, and I really hoped one of them was Birdie's. Two heads of blond hair appeared at the bottom of the stairs. So it was Francis! Thank gott...

They walked into the room and sat on the bed with me. Francis was holding something behind his back. It immediately piqued my curiosity. But first, he handed me an envelope with _$150_ on the front. I stared at the number, shocked.

"Francis... this is more than you said you'd give us"

"Oui, a lot more actually. Your frére got the same ammount"

"But that's three hundred dollars! How can you afford that?!"

Birdie chuckled and smiled at his father. "Papa is the owner of 'Love from France', the café downtown. Business has been good a-and with both Papa and Dad working, th-there's a lot of money left over"

"Oui, but Gilbert I want you to use your money for something specific"

He showed me the item from behind his back. It was a cube-looking thing that had a cloth over it. He slid the item over to me and I took off the cloth. The cube turned out to be a cage with a yellow bird in it. My eyes lit up and a huge grin spread across my face. I got an awesome little bird buddy! I opened the cage and he flew out, landing on my head.

"This awesome little guy's name is going to be Gilbird!

"The tag said his name is Frederick, but I guess you can name him whatever you want"

Francis pulled another item from behind his back and handed it to Mattie. Birdie held it up, and it turned out to be a stuffed polar bear. He hugged it close to his chest and buried his face in the faux fur, smiling brightly.

"Th-thank you Papa... the gifts are a-amazing!"

After that, Francis left. Gilbird flew around the house, getting used to his new surroundings. I grabbed my diary and started writing everything that had happened yesterday, saving the events from today for later.

_Dear awesome Diary,_

_Hallo again! It's the awesome me, and do I have some stuff to tell ya! Okay, you remember a couple weeks ago how I was tellin you I heard a ghost in the prison-school's bathroom? Well it turned out to be an awesome real person named Matthew! But his name is...eh, his name is fine, but I like calling him Birdie. No idea why. Anyways, we skipped together and it turns out that Birdie has all these wicked scars on his body from his dad Arthur. He started crying again so the awesome me hugged him and flipped off this guy in a mini skirt who was staring at us. We went to the park and Arthur found us there. Oh, and he has huge eyebrows. Fucking massive eyebrows. They're so big I bet you could make a scarf out of them! Anyways, he tried to hit Birdie but in my awesomeness I stopped him and stood up for BIrdie. Birdie got kicked out, but he's awesomely living with me now. I met his other dad, Francis who is a lot more awesome. He's gonna pay me and bruder for taking care of Birdie! Anyways, I gotta go, I'll write in you later!_

_Yours awesomely, Gilbert Beilschmidt_

After I was done we went upstairs and started eating the eggs that bruder made for us. He was looking at something on his facebook, a wall post by the looks of it. His face paled as he read it. Birdie washed the dishes again and I walked over to Luddy to see what the problem was.

"Uh, Gilbert? You should probably read this..."

Oh shit.


	7. Chapter 7

I would have paled when I read the message, if it were possible. Birdie came into the room, drying his hands off with a small towel. He looked over my shoulder and read the wall post with us.

_Oi, potato bastard! Rod and I are coming for a sleepover tomorrow, and ghost boy better be out of the house! I'm sure you don't want blood on your fucking floor, cuz that shit stains. Trust me. We'll be over as soon as it's dark, so figure out the fucking time yourself meat head! _

That was possibly the worst thing that could happen right now. Why bruder cared was beyond me. I thought he would have been happy to get my blood everywhere, then make me awesomely clean it up. Then again, Birdie didn't need to see that just yet... come Monday, he would have to see it. Joy...

"Th-that's not good... r-right?"

"Ja... that is very unawwesome. Luddy, what do we do with Birdie and Gilbird?"

Luddy turned around to see the awesome yellow bird in my hair. He sighed and decided not to ask, probably because the awesomeness was too much for him. He spun around fully in his chair, looking at the three of us. It appeared that he was having a debate with himself, over what I didn't want to know. Hopefully it wasn't whether or not to let the awesome me suffer.

"Bruder... You may not like this but, it's the only option"

"Whatever it is, will Birdie be safe?"

"Ja, and you as well. Hopefully"

I swallowed nervously. Hopefully? That was not the definite 'Ja' I had been hoping for... but whatever bruder was thinking was the only option. I couldn't think of anything what so ever. I felt a hand on my back, and knew it was Birdie trying to calm me down.

"What's the plan of awesomeness"

"You and Mat are going to be sleeping in the attic"

The attic? That didn't sound so bad... except we would have to ge through Grandpa Beilschmidt's room in order to get to the trap door. And we had no Idea what the conditions up there were like. Bruder had already started going up the stairs. Birdie tugged my arm lightly, beckoning me to follow. I took a deep breath before going up the stairs with him.

"Birdie... you've been awesome so far, but bitte... don't knock anything over or disturb any awesome item in the room"

"Ah... then I-I think I know who the room belonged t-to"

I was grateful that Mattie hadn't said it out loud. Gilbird cheeped sadly from atop my awesome head. Apparently he felt my sadness... and I am not ashamed to admit that the thought of Grandpa Beilschmidt still gives me pain. He was just gone so quickly. There was so much both me and bruder had to learn from him and he was called up with Mom and Dad. Just like that. We didn't get to say goodbye or anything. One day we were pulled out of school, and we were told that he was hospitalized. Three days later... you know what happened.

Tears had formed in my eyes as I thought of Grandpa Beilschmidt. I saw that Luddy was also crying, but the tears had overflowed and ran down his cheeks. He didn't bother to wipe them. He opened the door to Grandpa's room and stepped in. it was exactly like when we had last closed the door, three years ago. Nothing was out of place. Finally, the tears erupted from my eyes and I leaned against the door, my arms crossed over my chest. Small hands gently pried my arms open and a lithe body replaced them. Birdie hugged me, letting me bury my face in his hair and silently let the tears fall.

Bruder had already gotten the trap door open and was walking around upstairs. He came down the set of stairs and looked at us. I peeked and saw him smiling through his crying. I softly smiled back at him befor returning my face in the mass of wheat-coloured locks. A few minutes later I raised my head and looked into the purple, swirling orbs that were Birdie's eyes. I cracked a soft smirk and he smiled brightly.

"Y-you okay now, Gil?"

"I think so... danke Birdie. You have no idea how much I needed that"

He chuckled and let go of me. "Just returning the favour"

We went upstairs to find that the whole place was covered in dust. There were a few chests that looked very old, and lots of old furniture around the space. I frowned, knowing this would be a lot of work. I inspected the couches, trying to find one big enough to fit both me and Birdie. I couldn't find one where we could sleep beside each other, but there was one where birdie could sleep on top of me. I tested how comfortable it was by first sitting, then laying down on it. I swear, that couch was the most awesomely comfortable thing I'd ever almost fallen asleep on.

"Bruder, I found where me and Birdie are going to sleep for the night, kese!"

Birdie walked over and looked at me with an amused smile.

"I-is it comfy? A-and how are we going to sleep...?"

"You're going to lay on top of the awesome me and that's how we're going to sleep. Besides, its perfect for if you get unawesomely scared again!"

Birdie flushed dark red. However, Bruder wasn't listening. He was too busy dragging stuff out of the way so we could put the couch in the centre of the attic. I got up, figuring I should check the place for bats. I climbed onto the rafters and checked every space I could crawl to and got bruder to shine a flashlight in the places I couldn't reach. I found a couple mice and nothing else. I couldn't remember how I got up so I shrugged and jumped down from the rafters to a couch. Birdie looked at me with wide eyes. What? It was only a thirteen foot drop, nothing major. Luddy looked at me and sighed.

"Bruder, this is going to take a while to clean..."

"Aww, do we have to clean the entire attic?!"

"Nein, just the part you and Mat will be sleeping in"

Bruder walked over to the section he had cleared out and pulled the couch with me on it out of the way. He grabbed the comfy couch and dragged it to the border of the clean spot. He put a small coffee table a foot from the couch for use as a table. The next few hours were spent by us dusting everything off, sanitizing the table and putting a cloth over it. Next, we got all Birdie's stuff and Gilbird's cage up there. We didn't want Luddy's 'friends' to know that Birdie was here, or they'd target him too. Which I would not allow. We sat on the couch and looked around at our work. Luddy looked at me and Birdie.

"Will you be okay up here?"

"Oui... thank you so much for thinking o-of this"

"Ja, the awesome me will spread my awesomeness to this new part of the house!"

"When you are up here for the night. I want the both of you to put a chest over the trap door and duct tape it there... there is a chance Lovino and Roderich will come looking for Gilbert-"

"Because they're jealous of the awesome me's awesomeness"

"Nein, because you're supposed to not be in the house. But, Mat is your responsibility so I have to hide the both of you"

"Really bruder? 'My responsibility'? What is he, a dog?"

"I am already being nice by not kicking you out like they wanted me to. Don't press your luck, Gilbert. Anyways, we are going to have to get some food for you. Alphagetti's, cold cuts and a loaf of bread should be enough"

"Two cans of Alphagettis each?"

"Ja"

"Ja, that should be enough then"

Bruder went back downstairs, leaving Birdie and me still in the attic. It was kind of awkward for some reason, but whatever. I was too awesome to let awkwardness get to me. Gilbird flew off my head and landed on Mattie's. He looked up at the yellow bird and smiled.

"I-I think he likes m-me"

"Ja, of course he likes you! You're somewhat awesome, remember?"

"Oui... and does Gilbird only like people w-with a little awesomeness in them?"

"...He hasn't flown on Luddy's head so I guess that's a ja!"

Birdie looked at me with a frown. I could tell he wanted to ask me something, but he was apparently deciding whether to ask or not. I turned to my back was against the armrest of the couch, giving him my full attention. He sighed and looked at me, finally done deciding.

"Gil...?"

"Ja?"

"C-can I ask you about s-something?"

Then it clicked: he wanted to know about Grandpa Beilschmidt. I smiled sadly.

"You want to know about Opa?"

"O-oui... i-if it's too touchy of a subject y-you don't have t-to tell me anything... b-but I kinda want toknow what h-he was like"

I put my arms behind my head and looked at the roof when I spoke. Yes, it was a touchy subject, but he wanted to know. The 'If it weren't Birdie I would have flipped my shit' rule came into effect. He even had his own rule now... agh. Rules. That was more bruder's thing. Anyways, I awesomely answered the question.

"Grandpa Beilschmidt was a soldier in WW2 for Germany. He was the damned best they had. He told me that on Christmas, when the temporary truce happened, he and a British soldier sat down and talked about their families. They met again on the battlefield, and they chose not to kill each other. After the war was over, they kept in touch for a long, long time. The British guy even was awesome enough to come to the funeral"

"W-what about y-your grandma?"

"She died when dad was... about 16. So long before I was awesomely born"

"D-do you still keep contact with the British guy?"

"Ja, we email every few days. Bruder sends the emails, but I awesomely write them!"

"Ah"

"What about your grandparents, Birdie?"

"...I don't know... I-I never got to meet them"

Birdie frowned when he said this. He did look pretty disappointed that he never met them, but he was still thinking my Grandpa's story over. There was a cough at the trapdoor and Luddy was standing there. He'd probably heard everything, but I didn't care. It was nice to finally talk to someone about it.

"Mat and Gilbert, we should probably eat now. It's six in the afternoon"

We went downstairs to eat a supper of vegetable soup and a little ham. Birdie was still frowning from our talk in the attic, which worried me a little. Was he thinking of calling us Nazis? Probably not... they guy was too awesome for that. Wait... exactly how awesome was he?! Now things were getting complicated... fick that's not supposed to happen! It was only the second day I'd known the guy! Aaaaagh... stupid emotions. Go rot in Luddy's porn collection. Then go die from the secret toys he has for Feliciano.

After supper, Birdie washed the dishes yet again. The frown was still on his face. I frowned also; Birdie's smile was way more awesome than his frown! I walked beside him and looked at him with a slight bit of worry.

"Birdie, what's bothering the somewhat awesome you?"

"W-well... it's the fact that I'm slightly jealous of you"

"What? Over what! My life sucks giant unawesome balls and you know it!"

Birdie finished washing the dishes and put them in the rack to dry. He dried his hands and looked at me, that damned frown still on his face. I seriously would have done anything to wipe it off. Even let him look at my porn collection! Which was larger than Luddy's, but he didn't know about it because I am awesome at finding a place to hide stuff! Anyways, Birdie stared me down as he spoke.

"B-because your family seems somewhat-functional. M-my family... well, look at where I am now. N-not in my own house because m-my asshole of a dad kicked me out, not to mention he left all these fucking scars on my body and you're the only one who even gives a damn about me! Sure, Papa misses me but did he give a flying fuck where I stayed?! Did he even bother to call, oh, I don't know, 911!?"

Birdie's volume rose with every sentence, so he practically screamed the last part at me. Angrily, he stomped downstairs. I figured I shouldn't follow, so I sent Gilbird down to keep Mattie company. After all, he could be down there for a while. Luddy wasn't on the computer, so I just played Monster Galaxy on Gaia for about an hour. Until I heard the crying.

Cautiously, I tip-toed downstairs, to find Mattie sprawled out on the bed. His body was shaking violently though no sound escaped him. I crawled on the bed beside him, not sure if this was the time for hug treatment or not. Mattie dragged himself on top of me, forcing me to lay down. He just cried on my chest, soaking my hoodie with tears. I rubbed Birdie's back, hoping to calm him down. It didn't work until an hour later. He sort of collapsed on my body, putting his full weight on me.

"I-I'm sorry Gil... I shouldn't h-have gotten so upset..."

"It's fine Birdie, not your fault. Everything is just out of your awesome hands"

Birdie sat up and took off his sweater. He pulled mine off me and threw the clothing somewhere in the room. Mattie flopped back on my chest and pulled the blanket over us.

"I'm going to s-sleep... goodnight"

"Night Birdie, sweet dreams"

"M-merci"

And just like that, Birdie was out like a light. Speaking of lights, the one in our room was still on. Gilbird turned it off with his beak and flew back to me. I wrapped my arms around Birdie and flipped us so we were laying like last night. I sighed, slightly upset that I would have to postpone my diary writing again... Un. Awesome. Well, all of tomorrow looked to be pretty unawesome. I just hoped bruder wouldn't sell out to his 'master', Roderich...


	8. Chapter 8

We were woken up the next morning by Luddy crashing through the door. I held Birdie close and glared at mein bruder for waking us. Then I looked at the clock and nearly fainted. It was already five in the afternoon, which meant we only had an hour to get everything ready and get upstairs before the other members of the bastard bunch got here! Birdie stretched and also glanced at the clock. He looked back to me and bruder in shock.

"H-how did we sleep for that long!?"

"My guess is it was a highly emotional day for both of you. But this is no time for chit-chat! We need to gather the rest of the stuff and get you upstairs in... half an hour!"

"What!? But Luddy, it's only five!"

"Ja, you need to be upstairs before they get here"

I sighed and let go of Birdie. He practically flew off the bad and quickly threw on his sweater. I frowned and looked through my drawers for two pairs of pj pants. I threw one pair at Mattie, to which he gave me a questioning look.

"If we're going to be up there for the night, we need to be comfortable, ja?"

Birdie sighed and stripped down to his boxers. He put the pj pants on and took off his sweater. The pants were a little too big for him so he tied them up and turned to face me. I had already gotten into some pyjama pants and was waiting by the door for him. Together, we raced upstairs to find Luddy cooking some omelets. We sat down and quickly scarfed down our food. Luddy went through all the cupboards, trying to find something. When he had an armful of the items he set them down on the table. There were about sixty candles there, and a box of matches. I looked up at him with the same look Birdie had given me.

"You can't be up there in total darkness, ja? And I can't give you a flashlight, or else my friends will suspect something. So, this is the only alternative"

"Oh, ja I get it! Kesesese... so Birdie you and I should probably shower"

"O-oui..."

We went downstairs and left Luddy to carry all the candles to the attic by himself. Birdie went to shower first, and he firmly shut the door. I grabbed my diary and quickly wrote in it.

_Dear awesome Diary,_

_I can't write much at the moment, but here's basically what happened yesterday:_

_-Got awesome little bird named Gilbird_

_-Found out that fucktard and asshole are coming over at dark_

_-Had to go into opa's room to get to attic where me and birdie will be being awesome_

_-Got into... I don't even know what to call it, but Birdie was yelling because my family is 'somewhat functional'_

_That's it for now but I will write again later_

_Yours awesomely, Gilbert Beilschmidt_

I stopped writing just as Birdie was getting out of the shower. He had just changed back to the pyjama pants, but had decided to go commando. He threw his boxers in the room and I hid them in my drawer. I went into the bathroom and quickly showered, not bothering to close the door again. I was in and out in about five minutes. I also changed back into my pj pants.

I grabbed my sketchbook, backpack, pencil case and diary and went upstairs. Birdie had decided to take his pillow and blanket up too, so we would be more comfortable when we slept. We carried the items to the attic, where Luddy had dropped off the candles on the table. We set the items on the floor and raced back downstairs. Luddy was in the shower, so we tore through the cupboards and fridge looking for food. We found two zip lock bags filled with ham, a loaf of bread , four cans of Alphagettis and a box of cookies. Luddy must have done some shopping while we were sleeping!

We set those items on the table in the attic beside the candles and went back downstairs. Everything had taken longer than we expected, so the sun had just gone down. Luddy was dressed and waiting for us.

"Okay, I want you two to put one of the heaviest chests you can over the trap door. And I don't know what part of the house you will be over, so please be careful. In the morning, I will give three knocks on the chest and then you know you are safe to come down. Got it?"

"Ja, we've got it"

"Oui"

Luddy looked out the window and immediately panicked.

"SHIT THEY'RE COMING!"

Me and Birdie didn't need to be told twice. We booked it upstairs and to the attic. We pulled the trapdoor shut just as we heard the door open. There was still a little light, so we could at least see the table where the candles and our food was. Birdie and I each took thirty of the candles and set them up randomly in the room. we left four on the table and put about twenty around the couch. The smaller candles we put on the couches, and the taller ones we put on the floor or on various chests. I took out four matches from the box and set the box on the table. I handed two matches to Birdie and we lit the candles. The ones on the table and around the couch were first to be lit, followed by the ones on the other couches and then the random ones on the floor. We walked back to our couch and sat down, admiring the lights.

"I-it's beautiful, Gil"

"Ja, it is... we should probably put a chest over the door"

I went to lift one of the only chests without a candle on it, but it was too heavy. Birdie came over and helped me. Somehow, we managed to lift the chest and gently put it down over the door. We heard voices coming up the stairs, and immediately we ran to the couch. I held Birdie close as the voices came into the room. He buried his face in my chest, and we both tried not to breath.

"Hey, Ludvig! What about this room here?"

"That is Opa's old room, I doubt he would hide there"

"Well, let's just fucking see about that, shall we bastardo?"

"Fine, but if you knock over anything I will knock out your brains"

We heard them come into the room and Birdie shrunk further in my arms. We heard them checking under the bed, in the closet and other places. The trap door opened, but the chest blocked them from getting through. Not even Luddy could lift it from his angle.

"Huh. Must be fucken boarded over. Well, there's no way the asshole could get up there then"

"Ja, I told you he's out of here"

"Hm... let's check the basement once more, to be absolutely sure"

"Si, then we can fucking start this party. Rod, you did bring the beer and wine, right?"

"Of course"

We heard them exit the room and close the door. Three sets of feet went down the stairs, and me and Birdie finally relaxed. I breathed a sigh of relief. Mattie looked up at me, a smile on his face.

"Th-that was close... b-but it's good to know we are sealed in here"

"Ja... and as much as I hate to say it, we should probably get homework done"

"I-I'm all caught up"

"What classes do you have?"

"Applied math and science, art, music, history, and french"

"When do you have art and with who?"

"Th-the period after lunch with Ms Braginskaya"

"Birdie, you and me are in the same awesome class!... Did we have homework?"

"I-It was to draw a portrait and a self-portrait"

I grabbed my sketchbook and a pencil. I smirked at Birdie and he rolled his eyes, sitting on the opposite side of the couch so I could draw him better. The candle light was making his face look red, because there was no way he was blushing. I took 10 minutes to do the whisper lines, another 10 minutes for the detail and five minutes more for the shading. I looked at my work and smiled. I drew Birdie so he had a small smile on his face and his eyes seemed bright. I handed the sketchbook to Birdie and he gasped. I smirked in success.

"G-Gil, it's... so good, h-how did you learn to draw like this!?"

"Eh, born with it I guess. Which further adds to my awesomeness"

"I agree... d-do you need a mirror to do y-your self portrait?"

"Yeah... you got one?"

Birdie grabbed one of the boxes we had taken upstairs yesterday and sifted through it. He lifted out a mirror that looked like it belonged on a locker. He handed it to me and I started to work. I took longer on the self-portrait because I wasn't sure if the light was making my face look weird or not. I finally finished and showed Birdie again.

"Gil... y-yet again you have b-blown my mind with your drawing skills"

"Danke!... Mind if I draw you some more?"

"M-maple! Why?"

"I'm unawesomely bored"

"O-oh... I guess so, but I'm g-going to be writing"

Birdie pulled out his writing book and a pencil. He flipped to a page and began to write. I decided to draw him doing that, in the exact position he was in. He stopped and put the pencil in his mouth, thinking of what to write. I drew him like that instead of actually writing. I showed him the finished product and he smiled.

"You h-have a real talent there, Gil"

I smiled and went back to drawing. The next one I did was of both of us. I was pulling Birdie's curl and he was laughing while pushing me away. I had my eyes closed, and I was smiling. After I was done, I looked at it and decided it was my favourite. N-not because Birdie looked the happiest in it, not at all! The... shading was really awesome. I showed it to Mattie and he just stared at it, smiling the entire time.

"I-I think it's the best one you've done s-so far"

"Why?"

"B-because you look happy in it"

...A candle got too close to my face and it turned red. Therefore, I was not blushing. I heard Birdie's stomache grumble, and figured it was time for our late supper. I threw one of the bags of ham to Birdie and grabbed four slices of bread. I gave two to Birdie and made my own sandwich. I have Gilbird a little bread, to which he happily chirped. Me and Birdie ate our food in silence. We could hear that everyone was drunk, or at least tipsy. They were yelling and... doing karaoke... mein gott I think my ears were bleeding!

Birdie was chuckling at the horrible attempts at singing. He finished his sandwich and started humming the tune. At first I didn't recognise it, but as soon as Birdie started singing the chorus I knew what it was. Lips of an Angel by Hinder. Birdie sat back and closed his eyes, singing along in a voice I can honestly say was beautiful. He had a light smile on his face as the song ended, and for some reason it went to Check Yes Juliet by We the Kings. Birdie sung along to this one too, his voice drowning out the pathetic excuses for singing downstairs.

I immediately grabbed my sketchpad and drew what came to mind, which was Birdie with wings. Really big, feathery ones. As soon as the song was done, Birdie opened his eyes again and looked at me drawing. In the picture his back was turned to you so you could see the full extent of his wings. He was wearing a hoodie, and his hands were in the pockets of it. He was looking back with a shy smile. I smiled when I finished and showed him the picture, to which he turned a dark shade of red. Invisible tomato hit his face or something. He traced the outside edge of one of the wings and tried taking in all the detail.

"I c-can't believe you actually drew this... i-it looks like it was done b-by a pro"

"Eh, inspiration hit me like a shit load of bricks" (AN: Favourite line so far)

Birdie looked up at me and smiled.

"W-what was your inspiration?"

There must have been a box of tomatoes fairies up here or something, because my face got red. F-from an invisible tomato!...That suddenly gets visible when it hits someone's face. I bit my lip and decided just to tell him.

"H-hearing you sing"

Shit, did I just stutter? NOT AWESOME! That's Birdie's thing, not mine! Agh...

"R-really? Am I th-that good?"

"Better than the retards downstairs"

"M-merci"

"You're awesomely welcome... what period do you have history in?"

"L-last, with Mr. Zwingli"

"Same class again!"

Birdie smiled. He took some more ham from his bag and nibbled on it. I opened the cookies and ate three, handing Mattie the same amount. We finished eating and closed up everything so the mice wouldn't get into it. We both yawned and looked at each other.

"Sleeping time?"

"O-oui... c-can we leave the candles burning?"

I nodded. I grabbed the pillow and put it behind my head. Birdie climbed on top of me, wrapping his arms around my neck and sighing.

"T-today was a good day"

"Mm, it was. Where did you put the drawings? I think I want to hang two of them up in the basement"

"O-on the table"

"Mkay. Night Birdie"

"Bon nuit"

I grabbed the blanket and set it on top of us. I wrapped my arms around Birdie and smiled. It had been a good day, and I got my art homework done in the process. I closed my eyes and let Birdie's body heat mingle with mine, making it surprisingly warm. There were no more drunken attempts at singing. So at least we would get some rest. Tomorrow would probably suck, but for right now I was happy just to hold Birdie in my arms and drift to sleep. I knew he felt the same.


	9. Chapter 9

"G-Gil, wake up!"

"BRUDER GET YOUR ASS OUT OF BED!"

I chuckled lazily and opened my eyes a little to see Birdie and Luddy standing over me.

"But I'm not in bed, kesese!"

"It's 8:00... school starts in half an hour"

"Ja, and?"

"And, you still have to get up, get your ass kicked, go off to wherever and then get your ass to class"

"Kesese, that rhymed"

"I am this close to punching you awake"

Grumbling, I sat up on the couch and opened my eyes. Birdie was standing over me in jeans and a turquoise sweater. Luddy was in a t-shirt and jeans. I stood up, hugging Birdie briefly. Luddy picked up one of my drawings, the one that had Birdie with wings. He looked at it, obviously impressed by it's awesomeness. He gently set it back on the table and went back downstairs. Birdie started to go downstairs, but I caught his arm. There were some things I needed to get straight with him.

"Birdie, I gotta tell you some unawesome shit"

"O-okay"

"You remember two days ago when I told you all the shit wrong with my life?"

"Oui, of course! W-wait... y-you're... getting beat up? I-I thought Ludwig was only kidding about that!"

I sighed and looked him in the eye.

"Birdie, you have to be safe. You know where breakfast club is?" He nodded. "Good. Go there as soon as you get to school, and I'll be there... in probably ten minutes, Got it?"

Birdie nodded again, but there were tears in his eyes. He surprised me by hugging me tight. I could feel his tears on my still-bare chest and I hugged him back just as tight. He looked up at me, tears still overflowing from his eyes.

"Gil... I-I don't want you to g-get hurt! Y-you've been nothing but nice, y-you don't deserve it!"

"Birdie... this is the routine. The money gets recycled back to the house through Ludwig, don't worry"

"B-but you're not as replaceable as money!"

Luddy coughed from the bottom of the stairs. I looked into Birdie's eyes again and held his face between my hands.

"Promise me you'll go straight to breakfast club"

"B-but I-"

"Promise me"

Birdie sighed and looked at me again, the tears finally slowing.

"I-I promise... is there anyone I should t-talk to?"

"Joanne and Sara, they help me when I go there after... you know. Say you're a friend of mine, so they won't worry when you get all worked up"

Birdie nodded and hugged me again. We let go of each other and I packed the portrait and self portrait in my bag. I went to the basement and put on track pants and a Black sweater. I came back up, to find Luddy roughly pushing me out the door as soon as my shoes were on. Birdie was already gone.

"Bruder, I'm saying you snuck back in so you won't get in as much trouble"

"Ja, whatever. Let's just get this over with"

Luddy gave me some money and practically dragged me to the school. I saw Birdie head in the direction of the breakfast club, and I smiled. At least one of us would be safe. I looked ahead to see Fuckass and Crotch Head crack their knuckled. Lovino ran up and punched me in the gut while Ludwig held me there.

"So, was the bastardo in the house for the entire night?"

"Nein, I caught him sneaking in right after you left"

Roderich smirked.

"Well, it seems that we are going to have to punish you good then"

I spit at his feet and the next thing I knew I was on the ground. The only thing I could feel was pain, but I didn't cry out. I would not give them that satisfaction. I closed my eyes and Birdie's face appeared behind my eyelids. I focused on that, on Birdie until the beating was done. I felt a hand dig into my pocket and get my 'lunch money'. I doubted they were going to leave a penny this time. Rod-up-his-ass spat just in front of my face and walked away, cackling. Lovino hit me once more in the face, just to be sure. Ludwig, as usual, didn't do a thing to help me.

As soon as they were out of sight I struggled to my feet. I unzipped the sweater and found multiple scratches and hits that were going to bruise all over me. Frowning, I walked over to the breakfast club and opened the door. Birdie was talking with Joanne, who was making wurst! She was about to say something to me, but I made the 'shush' signal. As quietly as I could, I made my was over there. Birdie's back was to me, so I spotted an opportunity. As soon as I was close enough, I wrapped my arms around Mattie's waist and felt him jump.

"Kesesese, it's just me Birdie!"

He immediately whipped around in my arms and almost tackled me to the floor. Tears had errupted from his eyes. I rubbed his back and told him to calm down. He sniffled against my shoulder and looked up.

"I-I'm just glad you m-made it..."

"Kesese, didn't think my awesomeness would be enough to get myself up? And danke for keeping your promise"

"Y-you're welcome Gil... b-but I was watching from the window.

Joanne set the wurst on the table and smiled at us.

"It's true, he wouldn't leave the window the whole time... so Gilbert, introduce me to your... friend?"

I smiled brightly and looked down at Mattie. He smiled also and let go of me. We sat down and Sara came to patch me up. She listened in as Joanna asked me questions.

"So what is your friend's name?"

"Birdie"

"I-it's actually Matthew... I-I don't know where he got the Birdie from"

"First thing my awesome mind though of"

"And how long have you known Matthew?"

I winced slightly as peroxide was rubbed onto the deeper cuts. I bit down hard on the wurst, trying not to make a sound of pain. When that was over, bandages went over that cut.

"Since Friday"

"That's it? Wow... and I guess you've told him about everything?"

"Even Opa"

Sara stiffened slightly at this, but kept cleaning my wounds anyways. Joanna leaned in a little closer, fascinated. Birdie edged closer. He was obviously uncomfortable under the lady's gaze. Suddenly, Joanna's face broke out into a smile. This time, her question was directed at Mattie.

"How did you meet?"

I watched Birdie's face carefully for any hints of him crying. But, he kept himself together pretty well. he rested his hands under his chin in the same was Joanna's were under her chin. A small smirk played on his face.

"W-well, it turned out that w-we went into the same bathroom to cry e-every day... Gil tried backing into a corner, b-but I was already there. H-he turned around, w-we cried togeth-ther and we skipped together"

"Gilbert, I told you not to skip unless it was necessary!"

"Ja, and it was necessary! Birdie was still upset and that was a brutal crying session!"

"Your friend being ups- how bad was it?"

"Even if Birdie wasn't there I would have skipped. It was pretty unawesome"

"Aah... do you need a lunch, Gilbert?"

"Ja, and could you give something to Birdie too?"

"Why?"

"Because he is awesomely living with me and Ludwig got us out of the house before we could grab anything"

Joanna smiled and nodded. She went to make something for us, and Sara was finished fixing me up. She looked at me with something between a smile and a frown, which was weird.

"Gilbert... you actually told him about Borus?"

"Ja"

"Why?"

"Because we promised each other to tell why we were unawesomely crying"

"Ah... Matthew, you are okay with his grandfather being a nazi?"

"I-I don't think he was a nazi... h-he didn't kill a soldier that he was supposed to, because they had met o-on christmas and talked to each other. I think h-he was a good man. S-so the fact that he was on Germany's side doesn't m-matter to me"

Sara nodded and walked off. I smiled and took the bags the Joanna had returned with and we walked out the door, throwing our thank you's behind us. We got to our lockers and put away our stuff, hanging in the halls for a bit because the bell wasn't going to ring for a little.

"So Birdie, you doing anything at lunch?"

"N-no... and I imagine you're not doing anything either?"

"Nope... we will awesomely meet in the bathroom again, ja?"

"O-oui"

The bell suddenly decided to ring and we both took off running. We ran until we reached our first period classes. Those classes sucked as usual for me, and I got weird looks from everyone who was in the hall earlier. At lunchtime, I sprinted down the stairs and to the bathroom, where Birdie was already sitting on the counter. His knees were hugged to his chest, but he wasn't crying. Which was awesome! I leaned against the wall and smirked.

"Hey Birdie"

"B-bonjour, Gil... um... w-what should we do? w-we can't eat in here"

"Ja we can, this is practically my bathroom... and maybe we should save most of it for later"

"F-for the walk home?"

"Ja"

For the rest of lunch we talked about school and upcoming projects. Birdie showed me his projects for art. They were okay, but I could teach him how to do better. I said that to, to which the lighting messed up his face because it turned red. He nodded and said he would love to be taught. I smirked in responce. When the bell rang, we grabbed our backpacks and headed to class.

The art room was right beside my row of lockers, so we didnt have that far to walk. When we got into the classroom we sat down beside each other. Ms. Braginskaya didn't care where we sat anyways. She called us up by table to let her see the projects. She called me and Birdie's table up last, and we showed her our portraits and self portraits. She looked at Birdie's first and smiled.

"I like it, Matvey. But work on the shading a little bit, da?"

He nodded and smiled. She took both of the sheets of paper and wrote 'B' on the back. I gave Mattie a quick smile before showing her my drawings. She took the self portrait and chuckled a little. I had drawn myself exactly like I looked in the mirror, which was a sort of frown. She wrote 'A' on the back, then looked at the portrait of Mat.

Her eyes widened a little. She looked from the paper at Mattie to me. She held the drawing up to Birdie's face and asked him to replicate the face in the drawing. I stuck out my tongue, and Birdie did the same smile in the portrait. She asked us to come into the hallway with her. I leaned against the wall, while Mattie stood a little off of the wall. Ms. Braginskaya smiled.

"Gilbert, this drawing of Matvey... is exceptional. You have captured his face in perfect detail... how do you know Matvey?"

I sighed. "Ms. Braginskaya... you know about my 'situation', ja?"

"Of course, all the teachers do"

"I don't want Birdie dragged into that, so please don't tell the other teachers or anyone that we're friends... I wouldn't be able to stand it if Birdie got unawesomely hurt"

"Da, I understand. You don't have to tell me, if that is your choice. But, because the portrait is so well drawn, I would like to keep it as an example"

I looked at Birdie for confirmation. The lighting was still making his face look red, but he nodded.

"I-I'm okay with that... G-Gil did some other drawings of me, a-and one with both of us"

"Full body?"

"Um... down t-to the torso"

"Ah... that is our next project, actually. Gilbert, would you bring it in tomorrow for me to see?"

"Ja, but can I have it back? It's my favourite"

"Of course"

We went back into the class and just doodled until the bell. It turned out that we were the first ones done out of the entire class. I asked Birdie if we had any history homework and he said no. I sighed in relief. It wasn't like I did much homework anyways. But Mr. Zwingli... rumour had it that he shot an Italian guy for stepping on his lawn. And that the administrators said he could have a pistol in the class. You didn't want to mess with him. Unless you had a death wish, of course. So you wanted to make sure you did the homework in that class.

That day we were learning about the war of 1812. To give you a run-down of what happened, Canada wasn't a country yet and it was still under British colony status, I guess. The stupid Americans thought they'd get more territory and invade Canada, but the British and Native American soldiers fought the bastards off and later Canada became a country. Now, Canada and America have the longest unguarded border in the world.

That was basically our history lesson, dragged out for an hour and a fucking half. Once we were out of there, I told Birdie to head home first and wait for me at the park. He nodded once and walked off. I waite about 20 minutes before I started walking out one of the doors.

But a voice stopped me.

"Hey, Demon-eyes! We saw you with someone, and guess what your punishment is?"

Oh fuck... I just hope Birdie's okay...

And then I was on the ground.


	10. Chapter 10

Honestly, the beat-down they gave me was the worst I've ever had. They punched me in the gut a few times, then dragged me down the hall and outside. I felt someone go through my bag, and for once I hoped it was Luddy. I saw his meaty hand give a textbook to Roderich. Someone ripped off my sweater. Now, I will take this time to remind you that it was November, and the temperature was steadily getting colder. Which meant I was freezing without my sweater.

I felt the textbook make contact with my back. It knocked me flat on my stomache. I felt myself roughly picked up, and I was held in place. Lovino and Roderich took turns bashing my stomache and chest with the textbook, leaving a rather deep scratch every time. I swear Lovino pulled a knife on me, because I felt a searing pain across my side. This time, I couldn't stop myself from yelling out in pain. Roderich hit me in the soloplexe and knocked the wind right out of me. Ludwig let go of me and I fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"Lets go, he's had enough... I don't think he'll be at school tomorrow"

I heard them leave more than saw, because for some reason there was blood running down my face. Probably from when my face hit the ground. I just... laid there for a couple minutes, trying to catch my breath. I attempted to pick myself up, but this time I couldn't. They had really beaten the shit out of me. I attempted to focus on Birdie, but that only made my situation worse. I felt a few tears slip out. Then, the dam that was holding them back suddenly broke, and a mix of blood and tears were dripping down my face.

"GIL! MON DIEU, NO!

I looked up and saw Birdie sprinting towards me. I struggled to sit up, but that wasn't a very good idea. I clutched my stomache in pain, and looked down at my injuries. There were about eleven large cuts that weren't hospital-worthy, but would definitely scar. Birdie finally got to me and slid down on his knees. Tears were streaming down his face as he looked at me. I just let my tears fall as I realised he was safe. I took a deep breath, finally able to.

"Birdie... you're safe"

"Mon dieu, G-Gil what happened? W-why..."

"Because they caught me with you... but thank gott you're safe..."

Birdie looked at the textbook lying to my right. His eyes narrowed into slits and it looked like they had just caught fire. He sighed and hooked my arm around his shoulders. With much struggling, we managed to pick me up. Silently we made the slow journey back to the house. Ludwig (you have no idea how hard it is to say his name right now) came out as soon as we were close. Birdie glared daggers at him.

"You fucking touch him and you will get a hockey stick shoved so far up your ass that you'll be shitting it out tomorrow" Birdie growled.

Both me and Ludwig looked at him in shock, but a smile spread across my face despite the pain of moving. The muscle-bound fuckface moved away, staring at Birdie. Though it took a lot of energy, I flipped him the bird. Mattie didn't stop supporting my walking until we got to the basement. Gently, we lowered me on the bed.

"Y-you do have medical s-supplies down here, right?"

"Ja, in the cabinet... danke Birdie. Danke so much"

"F-for?"

"For... just being here and not getting unawesomely hurt... I wouldn't ever forgive myself if anything unawesome happened to you"

Birdie smiled and nodded. He jogged to the bathroom and grabbed the really big bandages, the ones that wrap all the way around you, peroxide and some cotton balls. I sighed and sat up. Gilbird flew over and landed on my head, nuzzling my hair. I got him out of my hair and put my cheek to his soft feathers.I winced when I felt Birdie disinfecting the cut on my side. he cursed and grabbed a cloth from my drawers to mop up the blood. He wiped the blood from the cut and continued disinfecting it. He did the same to all my cuts and wrapped my entire torso in the bandages. He made sure it was tight, but not so that I couldn't breath. I flopped back on the bed and sighed.

"This is so unawesome... I hope I didn't lose to much of my awesome blood"

"I-I don' think you lost too much blood... they h-had partially scabbed over when I-I was working on them"

"How did you know how to do that, Birdie?"

"Dressing y-your wounds? I-I used to have to treat my own"

"Ah... what about the one on my awesome face?"

"It's small, it j-just bled a lot"

"Oh... okay"

"Y-you want some food?"

"Ja... check if we have chicken noodle soup"

Birdie smiled and went upstairs. I called Gilbird over to me. He flew over and landed on my chest, on one of the parts that hadn't been cut. I smiled a little at him.

"Gilbird... you are an awesome bird, so could you watch Birdie for me? The awesome me would have accompanied him, but I can't really get up now"

Gilbird cheeped in a way that told me he understood. He flew up and out of the room, but on the stairs he gave a screeching noise. I could hear footsteps that weren't Birdie's... they were too heavy. I didn't bother sitting up, I just looked up. Ludwig was standing at the door, and his eyes were puffy and red. Had... had he been crying? What the fuck!?

"Bruder, I-"

"Right now, it's Gilbert the awesome. What do you want"

"I realise that you are mad-"

"Mad?"

I heard Birdie's voice behind Ludwig. Mattie swept past him and set my soup on the bed beside me. I sat up and set it on my lap. Birdie stood in front of me, probably trying to protect me. I could see him slightly shaking, and I knew it wasn't from fear.

"Mad? Is that the best you can come up with?! YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS JUST BEAT THE HELL OUT OF YOUR OWN FUCKING FLESH AND BLOOD BROTHER! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HIM! WHAT HAS HE EVER DONE TO YOU? HAS HE EVER BEATEN THE SHIT OUT OF YOU FOR ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOTHING!? HE PROTECTED YOUR ASS WHEN HE WAS SEVEN AND THIS IS THE THANKS HE GETS!? YOU AND MY BROTHER SHOULD GET TOGETHER SOMETIME, BECAUSE YOU ARE BOTH COMPLETELY SELFISH ASSHOLES!"

Birdie climbed on the bed and got behind me. He wrapped his arms around my neck and put his chin on the top of my head. He lifted his head up a little to growl out the thing that pushed Ludwig out of the room.

"You touch him again, and I will make good on my threat. I am not afraid of you or your friends"

After that, Ludwig left the room pretty quickly. It sounded like he was running up the stairs. I felt Birdie sigh against my back and press his face in my hair. I rubbed the back of one of his hands, hoping to calm him down. He threaded his fingers through mine, and I will admit it shocked me. I hadn't expected him to do that... n-not because I liked him or something, what are you saying!? Birdie released my neck and wrapped his arms around my waist, just below the bandages. But he was still h-holding my hand.

"I-I'm sorry Gil, I-I didn't mean to explode like that"

"Nein. That is the last thing you should be sorry for"

"B-but he let me in the house, a-"

"Birdie, that is the only nice thing he has done in three years. Don't you dare regret yelling at him, because I thought it was totally awesome"

"You should probably eat your soup b-before it gets c-cold"

I smiled and unthreaded my fingers so I could eat. The soup was good, and I swear there was a bit of onion in it. I drank the last of it and set the bowl on the floor. Birdie got off the bed and looked through my drawers. he found a pair of pj pants and threw them at me. He stripped down to his boxers and sat on the bed. I had a little more energy thanks to the food, so I stood up and put the pants on. Mattie scooted so that he was to the pillows I also scooted and got under the blanket. He laid down and pulled my head on his chest. Too tired to think. I wrapped an arm around Mattie and got further under the blanket.

"Am I unawesomely too heavy for you, Birdie?"

"Non, you're f-fine... the weight feels good"

"Good... we going to sleep now?"

I could feel Birdie threading his hand through my hair, massaging my scalp. I sighed and snuggl- cuddl-... got closer. he wrapped his other arm around me, being careful of the bandages. Gilbird turned out the lights for us, and flew to a random shirt on the ground. We would have to get Birdie's stuff from the attic tomorrow, along with Gilbird's cage.

As Birdie fell asleep, I thought the last few days over. So much had changed. I had finally found someone who wasn't afraid of me, or feared going near me. Birdie had found an awesome person who would always protect him. He also got a place to live that was... better-ish than his old house. I dwelled on that a little more, chuckling softly when I remembered what I called his asshole family members

Then... thoughts of Birdie himself entered my awesome mind. He was... and I can't believe I'm admitting this, but he was adorable. Everything about him, from his unusual level of awesomeness to his gentleness, to the fact that he could really hurt someone when he was pissed all drew me in. I lifted myself up a little and slid up, so I was face to face with him, asleep. In the darkness, I stroked his cheek. He made a noise and turned so he was on his side, his head on my arm and his face in my shoulder. I... fine, I blushed. Happy? Ja? Good. I also realized something that I should have figured out the first day I met Matthew Bonnefoy-Kirkland.

I loved him.

I loved him and everything about him. The scars on his body didn't matter to me at all. They were proof that he was a survivor. Who else could have gone on after a fucking pot of boiling water was dumped on their back!? I wouldn't have been able to, and you can't... sit, stand or lay there and tell me you would be able to.

I frowned as I though of one thing that could be just unawesome. What if he didn't love me back... what would I do then?


	11. Chapter 11

I woke up without a warm body next to me. I sat up quickly, then flopped back on the bed. The pain in my torso prevented me from getting up quite that fast. So, slowly I got off the bed and walked upstairs. Ludwig was just going out the door to go to priso-... school. I walked to the kitchen to find Mattie on the phone with someone. He turned and saw me leaning against the wall. He smiled at me and talked to the person.

"H-he's up now, d-do you want to talk to him?"

There was silence as Birdie listened to the person on the other end of the phone. He nodded and handed the phone to me.

"Hallo?"

"Gilbert? It's Ms. Braginskaya"

"Oh... guten morgen, Ms Braginskaya"

"Matvey told me about what happened yesterday... I am going to have a talk with Ludwig about it. So how are you doing?"

"Eh... it hurts to get up too quickly, but I can awesomely walk now"

"Ah... you and Matvey will not be attending school today, da?"

"Ja... I don't think I could take another beating with my middle wrapped in awesomeness"

"I will get Ludwig to deliver both your homework. Rest up, and if both of you can't get to school tomorrow then that is fine. Goodbye"

"Bye, and danke"

The line went dead. I walked over to the phone's charger and put it in. I then walked over to Birdie and hugged him good morning. He hugged back gently before letting go. I walked to the computer and sat down, ready to play Monster Galaxy again. I heard Mattie open the fridge and search through it.

"Gil, y-you want some strawberries?"

"Oh, ja! Put sugar on them after they're awesomely defrosted!"

"Y-you mind sharing a bowl?"

"Nein, we can share! I can't awesomenly eat all the strawberries by myself!"

Birdie chuckled and dumped some strawberries in a bowl. He put them in the microwave and walked out to the livingroom. Mattie rested his chin on my head again as he watched me play. I used my Plasmias to kick some Cancer moga's ass.

"Oi, Birdie when's your birthday?"

"J-july first, Canada day"

"Then I just kicked your ass, kese!"

The microwave beeped and Birdie got out the strawberries. He put sugar on them and walked back while eating one. A little of the juice was dripping down Mattie's chin, which made him look... agh, whatever. He looked... cute? I'm new at this, shut it. I kinda wanted to lick it off... anyways, Birdie pulled a chair beside me and watched me play. Needing a distraction, I went to Youtube and stared at the homepage for a bit, trying to decide what song to play. I settled on Love Bites by Halestorm.

"You like this kinda music Birdie?"

"Sure... I-I like all kind of music"

"Justin Bieber?"

"M-must die"

I smirked and started singing along to the song while kicking awesome ass. I put it on infinitelooper, because I didn't want to listen to anything else. On the fourth loop, Birdie was singing along with me. He matched the chick's voice better than I did, but oh well.

"C-can we listen to I Miss the Misery?"

"You know this band?"

"S-somewhat... Alfred listens to music r-really loud"

I chuckled again and put on the song. We ended up going from Halestorm to Iron Maiden to Metallica to In This Moment. When we listened to In This Moment, Birdie discovered that I can do screamo. His reaction was funny! Mattie looked at me like I had just set a baby on fire or something. He got over his shock and sung with the chick while I did the screaming parts. It turned into a singalong while I was waiting for my mogas to heal. I was suprised that Birdie knew all the lyrics. The way he sang was pretty hot too.

When Ludwig came home, we were singing Gun Show... well, screaming it. Bruder just shook his head and set the homework on the desk for us. We had to do a few algebra problems, and work on art. Ludwig didn't leave, and I saw Birdie glaring at him again. I put my hand on his thigh to distract him.

"Gilbert, can we talk in private?"

"Nein"

"Bruder, I need to talk to you"

"Then do it here. I am not leaving Birdie"

I pulled Birdie on my lap. He struggled a bit, but gave up and leaned back on me. I rested my head on his shoulder and looked at bruder expectantly. He sighed and leaned against the wall. Next Life by In This Moment was playing, and I smirked.

"Well? What did Ms. Braginskaya tell you?"

"She asked why I beat you"

"And?"

"I said I didn't beat you, that I had only held you"

"Didn't you also carry me outside and get out my textbook so your dipshit friends could beat me with it?"

"Well... ja, but that is besides the point"

"And the point is? If you keep stalling I'm going to release Birdie on you. And give him a hockey stick"

"She asked me why I did it, and... I said it was because my friends told me to, and orders are orders. She asked me if that still counted with family, and that a real brother would say no... now, I am conflicted"

Birdie was vibrating. And not the kinky way either. He was... beyond pissed. He was trying so hard to hold it in, and I knew he was glaring like never before. To be honest I was proud of him for getting so pissed. When I first met him, he didn't look capable of getting angry.

"And why are you conflicted?" Birdie asked. I could feel as well as hear the anger in his voice. He was trying so fucking hard to hold back. I grabbed his hand and he squeezed mine hard. That helped to relieve some of his anger.

"Because orders are orders, but I haven't exactly been a good bruder..."

I felt Birdie clamp his free hand over his mouth.

"So, Luddy you are torn between two assholes and one awesome person who protected you when he was seven and got a scar from it?"

"Ja... but I can't exactly just ditch them, can I?"

"Uh, ja, you can! Would grandfather Beilschmidt be happy about you bullying me?"

Ludwig glared at us.

"Don't bring that into this, Gilbert"

With that the most unawesome person on the face of the earth fled upstairs. Birdie got off me and ran to the basement. I followed, not sure what he would do. I was a lot slower than him, because it hurt to run. So, I guessed there wouldn't be school tomorrow either. There was a low thump, followed by another. What the fuck was he doing?!

I got down there and saw that Birdie had put a pillow up to the wall and was punching it with all his strength. Which was surprisingly a lot. He gave it one last hit and let it fall to the ground. Mattie looked at me and sighed.

"W-we should probably check how your c-cuts are doing. Sit o-on the bed"

I did as he asked and he unwrapped the bandage from me. I looked down and frowned. Most of the cuts still looked like they were fresh. Birdie frowned also and went to the bathroom. He got the bandages and re-wrapped my torso. I smiled up at him and he looked at me questioningly.

"You haven't been smiling a lot the last two days... frowning is Luddy's job. Smiling is your awesome responsibility"

He smiled softly and sat beside me. Birdie wrapped his arms around my shoulders. It felt like he was being cautious, like he wasn't sure if I would awesomely allow him to do that. I smiled while rolling my eyes and lifted him on my lap. He b-... did a maple leaf impression, because there was no way he was blushing. I was thinking of confessing right then and there, but there was something that could be a major flaw in my plan of awesomeness.

"Birdie, can I ask you a personal question?"

"S-sure"

"What's your sexuality?"

He blushed and immediately hid his face in my shoulder.

"P-pansexual... y-yours?"

"Awesomely the same"

Some of you might not know what being pan means, so I will awesomely explain. It means that it doesn't matter what gender or anything the other person is, as long as they love you you love them back. So, you could be dating a tranny, a eunuch or a genderqueer person. It's completely different from being bi.

I couldn't deny the relief I felt when he said he was pan. That meant I had a fighting and awesome chance! Birdie relaxed in my arms and looked up at me.

"A-any reason you were asking?"

Oh shit. I hadn't expected him to question my awesome question... um...

"Because you don't seem to mind it when we sleep together even though you're not having nightmares"

I congratulated myself on a nice save.

"W-we can stop if y-"

"Nein"

"O-okay... what should we eat for supper?" Birdie asked. A huge smile had spread across his face, which made my awesome heart speed up. I hoped he couldn't feel it.

"Um... we can have the Alphagetti's we left in the attic"

"A-and we can get my stuff""

"And Gilbird's cage... speaking of which, where is he?"

"O-on your head"

I heard a chirp, and looked up. Gilbird was flying off my head and landing on Birdie's.

"That is the most ninja bird ever... I am proud, awesome little buddy!"

We got up and heard a thump from upstairs. Birdie started running, but looked back at me and waited. Damn my unawesome injuries! Slowly, we made our way up the stairs to find Luddy roughly setting down Birdie's boxes. The cage was already down, and he threw the cans of food at us. I caught two of them, and Birdie caught the others. We turned to go to the kitchen. I felt a package of meat hit the back of my head and I chuckled. Bruder was really pissed, because after that he stomped upstairs like an unawesome little girl! KESESE!

Because I said that out loud, bruder walked down a couple steps and flipped me off. I just laughed at him. He went back upstairs, probably to bang his head on a wall or whatever he did for fun. Birdie smiled at me and opened the cans, dumping the contents into two bowls. For some reason, our song was still playing... gott I love infinitelooper! Anyways, my mogas were all healed, so we sat down at our chairs and kicked awesome ass again.

When it was time to sleep, we went downstairs and carried the boxes with us. I grabbed my forgotten diary and wrote.

_Dear awesome Diary,_

_I am awesomely sorry for not writing, but shit got in the way. Anyways, Birdie and me had to sleep in the attic. I drew some pretty awesome portraits up there. Yesterday, Ludwig and his band of fucktards beat the fucking shit out of me. Worse than normal. So bad that Birdie practically had to carry me home. And, I found out something awesome: Birdie is a fucking beast when he's pissed! Seriously, you should have seen it! He threatened to shove a hockey stick so far up bruders ass that he'd be shitting it out! I was so proud. And, last night I realised something that could be potentially awesome: I love Birdie. It's true! He's fucking cute, and... I don't awesomely know, I just like him a lot. I found out today (using my awesomeness) that Birdie is pan, so that's good! I think I'm going to confess to him tomorrow... better to just get it over with, ja?_

_Yours awesomely, Gilbert Beilschmidt_

Birdie looked through his box of clothes and found a pair of pj pants. I hadn't changed all day, so I just got under the covers and waited for him. For some reason, he was blushing bad. He turned out the light and walked to the bed. Mattie lifted up the blanket and got under it. He shifted over until he found me and I stuck my arm out for him to use as a pillow again. He got closer and wrapped his arms around my neck. His face was in my shoulder.

"Goodnight Birdie... I'm not going to school tomorrow, am I?"

"Neither of us are"

"Why?"

"B-because you are hurt and I'm going to take care of you. I don't trust your frére with you"

I chuckled and wrapped my arms around Birdie. He got even closer, gently pressing against my stomache and chest.

"N-night Gil"

"Guten nacht, Mattie"

As soon as I was sure Mattie was asleep, I brushed the hair from his forehead and gently kissed it.

"Tomorrow I'll tell you something awesome" I mumbled. Sleep quickly came, and I wondered how exactly I would do it. I wanted him to not be scared or any shit like that, so I fell asleep thinking of the most awesome way to confess. I awesomely hoped he loved me back, or things would be awkward...


	12. Chapter 12

I woke up and heard Mattie speaking to someone. My scarlet eyes opened and I and looked at him. He was talking on the phone, probably with Ms Braginskaya. He said goodbye and hung up, then looked at me. I smirked and remembered to sit up slowly. Gilbird flew on my head, and cheeped his good morning. Birdie crawled over and got back under the covers. He pulled me back down.

"W-we're sleeping in... a-and we won't have any homework for today"

I smirked and pulled Birdie close. I felt my cheeks try to imitate the colour of my eyes. Gilbird flew over and turned off the lights again, then flew back. Honestly, once I was up, I was awesomely up. But the chance to hold Birdie was one that I wouldn't pass up, especially if it was my last time... and n-no, the awesome me wasn't freaking about my awesome Birdie's reaction. Stop smiling. That's Birdie's job.

Anyways, I stroked Mattie's hair as he fell asleep. I rubbed his back and occasionally kissed his forehead again. I didn't want to go for the lips, because I was sure Birdie would wake up. And, If I went there I wanted him to awesomely kiss back. An hour later, Birdie shifted and yawned.

"G-Gil, you up?"

"Ja... good morning!"

I felt him roll on his back. Gilbird turned on the lights again, and Birdie was smiling. He grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and looked at me, still smiling. Gott I loved it when he smiled...

"Morning Gil. Y-you want strawberries again?"

"JA!"

Birdie chuckled and we sat up. I hugged him close for a couple seconds. My eyes must have been hazy or something, because his face got red.

"W-what was that for, eh?"

"That was my awesome good morning hug!"

"A-ah... Ludwig's already gone for school"

"I hope so, its already 10"

We smiled and got out of bed. Slowly, I walked up the stairs. It hurt a little less, and I would be able to go to school tomorrow. I just wouldn't be able to run for a few more days. Birdie got the strawberries out of the freezer and put them in a bowl. I walked behind him and hugged him, hoping to confess right there. But, butterflies with steel fucking wings started crashing into my stomache, so I just held him. He relaxed into my hold, not nervous. At least one of us had managed to keep his awesome...

When the strawberries were done defrosting, I grabbed the sugar and dumped some on them. Birdie probably rolled his eyes and ate one. I let go of him and he ran to the computer. I carried out the strawberries and sat beside him, munching while he went to Youtube. He started to look for videos. We ended up watching videos from Skyrim for the next two hours. I tried not to, but I couldn't stop staring at Birdie while he laughed. it was the first time I had seen him giggle that hard... honestly I was in an awesome trance. He was... awesomely gorgeous, with a huge smile and his face red from laughing. He paused the video and looked at me, still chuckling a little.

"Y-you want some strawberries? You haven't eaten many o-of them"

I popped three in my mouth and grinned. I was still not sure how I should confess to Birdie. I had made up my awesome mind to do it sometime today. Once I had made up my mind, nothing was going to stop me... except for maybe the cyborgs that had taken up residence in my stomache. Seriously, it felt like they were trying to bore an unawesome hole in me! Birdie smiled at me and unpaused the video. We watched as some guy got launched into the air by a giant, and Birdie found it hilarious. I found his reaction to be adorable... like the rest of him.

Once the strawberries were finished, Mattie took the bowl back to the kitchen. I followed him, looking for an opportunity to confess. Birdie washed the bowl, and I just stood there watching him. When he turned back to me, I noticed there was a little strawberry juice on his hand. I saw this as possibly the only opportunity I'd awesomely get. I held his hand and kissed it softly. I looked up and saw Birdie... damn I hoped he was blushing. I took a deep breath and grabbed his other hand. I looked him in the eye.

"Mattie... I love you"

Tears started forming in Birdie's eyes, but there was also a huge smile across his face. I rubbed the back of his right hand with my thumb. Suddenly, the tears that had formed in Birdie's eyes overflowed, rolling down his cheeks. His smile was the warmest, biggest smile I had ever seen.

"Gil... d-do you really mean it?"

"Of course... I really do love you Birdie... a-and you are awesome"

I got a tackle hug from Birdie.

"Oh, Gil! Je t'aime aussi!"

"Y-you do?! THAT'S FUCKING AWESOME!"

Birdie pulled back and looked at me. He stroked my cheek, gently placing a kiss on it after. I carried Birdie bridal style to the couch. Hurt or not, I was going to cuddle with him. I laid down on the couch and put him on top of me. He settled on me, legs on either sides of mine. He put his head on my shoulder, close enough that he could kiss my neck. His weight actually felt awesome.

"Gil?"

"Ja, liebe?"

"W-what made you c-confess?"

"Ah... I realised two nights ago that I love you, and I awesomely saw an opportunity to tell you today"

"Oh... y-you know how long I've loved you?"

"Nein"

"Since you called me Birdie"

I smiled and hugged him close to me. That long? Wow... he was awesome at hiding it!

"That's a long time Birdie"

"Eh? It's only b-been... five days?"

"That's it?! It feels like awesome weeks have passed"

I felt Birdie smile against my neck. He kissed it again, but I wanted to know what it was like to actually kiss him. I slid him up on my body so he had to lift his head up. He climbed slightly over me and I was sure he knew what I awesomely wanted to do. I caressed both his cheeks before cupping them. I kissed Birdie's forehead and nose, then I finally went for the lips.

Our mouths moulded perfectly together. I slid a hand behind his head to hold him there. He threaded a hand in my hair and pressed harder against me. After a while, I wanted more. I ran my tongue along his bottom lip, and he opened his mouth for me. I gently coaxed him into moving his tongue with mine, and gott it felt good! Both me and Birdie were sighing into each other's mouths, loving the pleasure the kiss brought us. Eventually, we had to breath. We pulled away, gasping for air. Birdie nuzzled my cheek and cupped my face.

"G-Gil... that was a-amazing"

"I believe the word you mean is awesome... ich liebe dich"

"Je t'aime aussi"

"Onhonhon!"

We looked, and Francis was leaning against the wall, smirking at us. How the fick had he gotten in here in the first place?! And... how much did he see? Birdie looked between me and his father, torn between us. Francis smiled and sat on the floor in front of us.

"What is this I see? Two lovers?"

"Ja, I guess. Liebe?"

"O-oui..."

"And for 'ow long 'ave you been together?"

"Uh... seven minutes?"

"BUT YOU JUST FRENCH KISSED!"

"P-Papa!"

Birdie his his face in my neck. I stroked his hair, hoping to get him to come out of his hiding place. He shifted down on my body, so he could bury his face in my chest. Francis rubbed his son's back and looked me over.

"The school called mon maison, asking pour Mattheiu... I said 'e was at your 'ouse... was that wise?"

"Ja... danke"

"Gilbert... what 'appened to you, if I may ask?"

Birdie's body immediately got hotter. Temperature wise. His body was fucking sexy anyways. I rubbed his back along with Francis, hoping to calm him down. He turned his head to look at Francis, his eyes dark with anger.

"H-his brother and his brother's friends happened to mon a-amour"

"But, Birdie awesomely practically carried me back to the house and the bandages are his handiwork"

Francis smiled. I felt Birdie relax in my arms. He snuggled closer, shivering slightly. I frowned and pulled the blanket thing on the couch on us. Francis smiled again and started conversation.

"So, 'ow 'ave you both been, besides the... thing and l'amour?"

"B-bon, papa... il est trés bon pour moi"

"Oui, it looks like it.. est-tu bien?"

"Oui!"

"Et toi, Gilbert?"

"The awesome me did not understand that"

"Are you happy?"

"Ja... Birdie's been absolutely ficken awesome!"

"So Mattheiu's 'appiness means you are 'appy?"

"I guess so''

Francis walked to the front door, where there was a large plastic bag. He walked back and took out the contents: two huge chocolate chip muffins, two hot chocolates (which were still hot, suprisingly) and some birdseed. Birdie and I munched on the muffins while Francis went on about everything in his life, from how lonely things were at the house to the fact that he practically lived at his café. After about an hour of this, he had to go. We waved our goodbyes and as soon as he was out the door we looked at each other. Birdie attempted to stiffle a yawn, but I still caught it.

"Shall we take a nap of awesomeness?"

Birdie nodded and cuddled close. I wrapped my arms around him, stroking his back until he fell asleep. I kissed the top of his head again and smiled. I had finally told the guy I loved him, and I got an awesome lover in return. I shut my eyes and fell asleep, loving the feeling of holding Birdie as his boyfriend.

* * *

Translation: Il est trés bon pour moi: He is very good for me


	13. Chapter 13

A couple hours later, we awoke to Luddy closing the front door. There were grocery bags in his hands, and there was someone following him. Fuck, that was not good... especially if it was rod-up-the-ass. Then... I didn't want to think about it.

The person coming in had a curl, so it was either Feliciano or Lovino. When bruder moved, we saw that it was Lovino. I heard Mattie gasp softly when he got a good look at Lovino. Something flashed in the fucktard's eyes too, and they had a staring contest... I think. Awesomely, I didn't know what was up with them. Until...

"Matteo?"

...LOVINO KNEW BIRDIE!?

"O-oui... Lovino?"

...BIRDIE KNEW LOVINO!? WHAT IS THIS SHIT!?

Lovino sat down in a chair and looked at Mattie, his face blank with shock. Mattie rested his cheek on my chest, bein careful to avoid any of the cuts that had scabbed over. Everything was silent for about five minutes, and it was kind of awkward. Why was Lovino here anyways? He hated mein bruder and me! This was just insane.

"Matteo... it's really you... I didn't know you came back from Quebec!"

"Oui... I tried emailing you, calling you b-but nothing worked..."

"How long have you been back?!"

"Ah... a couple months"

"...And what are you doing here?"

Birdie sighed and snuggled closer, so he was resting entirely on me. I held him around the small of his back.

"Y-you remember my dad?"

"Si, the fucktard who gave you your scars..." Lovino stretched his neck a little and attempted to see something on Birdie.

"What is that on your back? Is tha-... fuck, is that what I think it is?!"

"O-oui... he dumped the whole pot o-on me"

"Holy fuck! Shit, why? Oh fuck, he found out about the skipping... so, what are you doing at the bastardo house?"

"I-I live here now... I got kicked out a-almost a week ago. We skipped, a-and Arthur caught us... and kicked me out. W-what are you doing here?"

"Stupid fucking Grandpa Romulus kicked me out because he found out about Ghost Boy over here... um, Matteo could you sit up for a second?"

Birdie did as he was asked. Lovino came over to us and knelt down. He looked at my bandaged torso. He sat on the floor... what was it with people and doing that today? Mattie lowered himself back on my chest, being careful to not hurt it. I immediately wrapped my arms back around him, covering almost all his back. Lovino looked at mein liebe in... something other than a scowl.

"Matteo... I know that look... that's the one you got whenever Sakura emailed you..."

"E-except for G-Gil's not cheating on me with a Greek girl"

"He better not be fucking cheating on you... how long have you been dating?"

"N-not even a day..."

"And have you... kissed the bastard?"

"O-oui..."

I could feel Birdie smiling against my skin. Lovino rolled his eyes and walked out of the room, clearly well, Birdie was mine and that wouldn't change. Mattie sighed and turned his face so he was looking at my neck.

"H-he's not happy..."

"Birdie, how do you know him?"

"H-he was my best friend in elementary school... a-after I went to Quebec to go t-to a french school, we lost contact with each other... it's weird seeing him like this. After two years, h-he's changed so much..."

"Really? That's unawesome of him"

"I-I have to agree with you there... I guess everything finally made him snap"

"Huh?"

"H-he always got overshadowed b-by his younger brother, a lot like how before you n-no one noticed me because of my brother"

"Oh.. that's more unawesome. I kinda feel bad for the guy... awesomely of course"

"E-even though he gave you all those cuts?"

"The fact that the awesome me has pity for him does not change the awesome fact that he beat the awesome me up, therefore the awesome me still doesn't like him"

"Bastardo, I did it because I had to"

Lovino walked back into the room. So there had been no point in walking out... hah, unawesome jerk! Anyways, he sat down in a chair and looked at the floor.

"I had no choice... Mat, you know how I get no fucking recognition?"

"O-oui, but this isn't the way to do it, ami"

"How the fuck was I supposed to know that, maple bastard?! How the fuck was I supposed to know that you would dissapear for two fucking years and all the shit that was going on would get worse and it would drive me to the fucking point where I punched that fucking turkish bastard and found that it got me some recognition!? It gets me out of my fucking brother's shadow, and potato bastard number two if you dare tell anyone this I'll make sure you're eating your own liver through your ass"

"L-Lovino. Look at me"

"But basta-"

"Now"

Lovino did as he was told. I couldn't see Birdie's facial expression, but whatever it was made the pizza-loving freak look guilty. Birdie's voice didn't stutter when he talked, and I detected a hint of anger in there.

"Lovino. You remember that day we talked about ending it, then we talked ourselves out of it?"

"Si... your reason was that you'd find someone who would give you everything you need, which still sounds fucking girly. "

"And your reason was?"

"That I don't need a reason because nothing could ever fucking break me..."

"And what happened as soon as I left?"

"... I may have let some of the shit get to me..."

"Oui, you did... why did you go after Gil?"

"Because he looked like a good target and he stood out"

"And how many years ago was that?"

"...Three"

"You and his brother and the fucking other guy have been making his life hell for three years straight... you were on the other end of that once. You know how shitty it feels, so why do you do that to someone else?"

"Because I broke okay? I'm a fucking monster! Is that what you wanted me to fucking see?!"

"N-non... you're not a monster, a monster is someone who takes people away to a shack in the middle of the country and... eeeeeh"

"Si... but I beat up your boyfriend!"

"W-we just got together today, remember?"

"Even still! And, now we gotta fake it for Roderich!"

"W-why?"

"He... threatened to tell Grandpa about... my... you know, the thing we talked about. I don't want Ghost boy to hear"

"Lovino... I-In case you havn't noticed, me and Gil a-are both guys... and whats the worst that could happen? He already kicked you out... speaking of which, h-how long are you staying?"

"Just overnight... and... you know what could happen!"

"...F-Fine. Where will you be sleeping?"

"The fucking couch. Because you bastards have probably destroyed the basement. And bastardo, if you try to fuck my friend you will die"

"It's not awesome to fuck your boyfriend of a few hours..."

"Hmpf. Move"

We rolled our eyes and got up. I stretched and felt a few things crack. I looked down at my bandages and frowned. Birdie was doing the same. Silently, we went downstairs to check on my cuts. Once we were there, I sat on the bed. Birdie unwrapped the bandages from my chest and grimaced. I looked down and saw that... they looked pretty unawesome. They would have to be re-wrapped... again. I wasn't even sure if we were changing them enough. But, whatever. Birdie grabbed the bandage and made me look like a weird mummy again. We climbed on the bed and resumed cuddling. After a while, Birdie lifted his head to face me.

"G-Gil, you're not mad are you?"

"Nein... do I have a reason to be?"

"I just thought that since he gave you the majority of the cuts, that y-you would be mad because I'm his friend"

"Nein... it's just really fucked up"

"I-I guess it is... life works in w-weird ways"

I nodded and held Birdie closer. We must have fallen asleep again, because next time we woke up Ludwig was standing over us. He pointed to the clock, and I sighed. it was time for school, and I wasn't sure of two things. A), how the fick we fell asleep for that long and B), what Lovino would do now that me and his friend were dating...

(AN: I'M SO SORRY GUYS :( I got major writers block, and this chapter pretty much sucks, but it will get better!)


	14. Chapter 14

Birdie got off of me so we could get dressed. We checked my cuts again, and found that they were well on their awesome way to healing. School would be fine today. Damnit! Not awesome! We got dressed and found Lovino standing at the door. Birdie went first, giving his f-frie- damnit that's hard to say...agh, you know what I mean. He gave Lovino a hug and the pizza-loving freak sort of returned it. Birdie walked over to me and gave me a sad smile.

"A-am I waiting for you again?"

"Ja... be safe, okay?"

Birdie nodded. I bent down and kissed him goodbye, hugging him close for a few seconds. We let go and Birdie walked out the door. I sighed and leaned against the wall for about five minutes, giving Birdie a head start. Lovino grabbed me by the shirt.

"Bastardo, you better pretend it hurts as much as usual. Or else I will beat your face in for real!"

"You're not going to hit as hard?"

"No... and you can thank Matteo for that. Now come on, we've got a show to do"

Lovino dragged me out of the house. Ludwig followed, looking... Luddy-ish? His expression was weird. It was like he didn't want me to get beat up, but he was pissed that I actually wasn't going to get beat that bad. I hoped. When we got to the prison yard, Roder-ick came walking toward us, smirking. Fuck him, I was the only one allowed to smirk!

"So, did you beat him up any more last night, Lovino?"

"Nah... figured he'd be more fucking fun if I left him fresh for today"

"Ah... good thinking. Now, you know what to do"

Ludwig held me in place again as Lovino started punching me. He somehow managed to avoid all the cuts that were still healing. I acted like he said to, and when Ludwig let go of me I just flopped to the ground. Honestly, I could have just walked to Breakfast Club right after that.

I waited a few minutes before I was sure they were gone. I stood up and brushed the dust off my sweater. I walked to Breakfast club and found Birdie talking to Joanne again. I made the 'shush' signal. With the quietness of Birdie, I walked over and hugged him from behind again. He squeaked, but relaxed in my arms. I kissed his neck and put my head on his shoulder. Joanne leaned against the counter, somewhat smirking.

"So... I can guess why you were off for two days?"

"Have you told her about the beating, Birdie?"

"N-nope..."

"W-what!? That's why you were off for two days!? How bad is it! Do we need to get Sa-"

"Joanne, calm down! I can show you how bad it was, but it's healing so it's fine"

Joanne nodded and Birdie grabbed my sweater. I took off my shirt to show Joanne my mummified torso... that sounded awesome! Kesese, I just might call it that from now on. Anyways, Joanne looked at it and frowned.

"Did you do this yourself?"

"Nein, Birdie did it for me"

"Okay... because that is an exceptional job at wrapping, oui?"

"Y-you speak french?"

"Yep, my family is from France... and, apparently I'm a distant relative of Joan of Arc"

"That is so awesome!"

"Mhm! Now, you guys better sit down and eat something"

We did as we were told and Joanne carried a plate of wurst for me and pancakes for Birdie. We ate hungrily, occasionally giving each other a bite of our food. Joanne watched us eat, smiling the entire time. She just couldn't help but ask questions about the awesome us.

"So... who asked who out?"

"The awesome me awesomely asked Birdie out. And it was awesome"

"Y-you looked so nervous"

"...Because asking someone out who is awesome isn't exactly easy, even for the awesome me"

"S-so I'm awesome now?"

"Ja! You are dating me after all"

Birdie gave me a playful smack on the head and continued eating. I smirked and ate the rest of the wurst I was holding.

"And how did you do it?"

"We were eating strawberries, and Birdie had a bit of the juice on his hand so I kissed it and asked him out"

"Awwww! Matthew, did you say yes right away?"

"Eh... after I made sure it wasn't a joke or anything, I kind of tackle hugged him and said he is mon amour"

I smiled and kissed him on the cheek, watching his face heat up and go red.

"Have you kissed yet?"

I waited until he had finished that mouthful of food and leaned over. He turned to me and rolled his eyes, smiling as I went for his lips again. They tasted like maple syrup and awesomeness. We pulled apart, lips sticking together slightly. I licked the taste off of mine and looked at Joanne.

"You guys are just adorable! All done your food?"

Me and Birdie quickly finished each other's breakfast and walked our dishes over to the sink. I grabbed my shirt and sweater and pulled them back on. We thanked Joanne and walked to the school, hand in hand.

The bell had already rung, so we booked it to our classes and made it before O Canada. Somehow. A kid named Raivis (who was a total alcoholic) came in late and had to clean the chalkboard. No one was in the hall when me and Birdie walked in, so I didn't get any weird looks. I think my first and second period teachers were being nice, because class wasn't as unawesome as usual. As soon as the bell rang, I walked to the bathroom me and Birdie had met in. He was already there again, sitting on the counter and smiling.

"H-how was class?"

"Unawesome, though not as much as usual. You?"

"Eeh... everyone kind of ignored me..."

I frowned and hopped up on the counter, pulling Birdie close to me.

"Birdie, that's just because the awesomeness level you have is too much for the shitheads in your class"

Birdie sighed and snuggled closer.

"Y-yeah... I guess you're right"

"Of course I am! I'm awesome"

Birdie pressed himself flat against me and sighed again, this time in happiness. I can honestly say that we spent the entire lunch just holding each other. It was... really peaceful. At the risk of sounding unawesome, (a risk I'll only take for Birdie) the only thing I could focus on was his even breathing against my stomache and chest. He had rested his head right over my heart so I guess he was listening to my heart beat. When the bell rung we hugged each other close then let go. Birdie sat up and smiled at me.

"W-we probably shouldn't keep Ms. Braginskaya waiting"

"Ja! Let's go Mattie!"

Mattie chuckled and grabbed his backpack. I grabbed mine also and we walked to art class, smiling. Ms Braginskaya looked at us with a huge smile on her face.

"Privet, Gilbert and Matvey! It is good to see you back in class again, da?"

"O-oui... when is the p-project due?"

"A week from today, so everyone has lots of time to perfect their drawings! Can I talk to you in the hallway again, guys?"

"Ja"

We went into the hallway again. I grabbed Birdie's hand and gave it a little squeeze. I caught him smiling as we leaned against the wall. Ms Braginskaya looked at our hands, then smiled.

"So.. you became lovers, da?"

"O-oui... b-but Gil really needed those days off a-"

"I know Matvey. I trust both of you. So, I did not get to see how bad 'it' was... may I now?"

"I gotta take my shirt off then..."

"That is fine. I used to be a gym teacher, but my... well you know. They kind of got in the way"

I took off my sweater and shirt again and showed the teacher my mummified chest. It still sounds awesome! So, the teacher looked at it and sighed. She asked to see the actual cuts and Birdie unwrapped my chest. Most of them were half-healed, and some had already healed and had left scars on my body. Ms Braginskaya nodded and stood up straight.

"You were right to take those two days off, both of you. You will definitely be okay. Anyways, you really don't need the wrappings anymore. By tomorrow they will be healed and scarred"

"O-oh... d-did I at least treat them right?"

"Da, you did very well. You may want to go into medicine, Matvey"

Birdie blushed and nodded. I put my sweater and shirt back on and we went back into the classroom. For the next hour and a bit I helped Birdie with his drawing. He was a very fast learner, so it turned out awesome, even though it was just the rough copy. When the bell rang, we said goodbye to Ms Braginskaya and left for history.

Mr Zwingli glared at us, but didn't say anything. That day we were learning about Canada's trading partners. Which bored the both of us out of our minds. When the bell rang, we grabbed our stuff and walked out of the room, sighing in relief. Birdie turned to me.

"Sh-should I wait for you at home?"

"Nein, we can just run home now"

So, we sprinted back to the house before anyone had even left the school. I checked around the house, making sure the damned aristocrat faker wasn't going to jump out or anything... and no, that is not paranoia. That is me awesomely making sure Birdie wouldn't be hurt by him. We threw our backpacks near the front door and went downstairs. Birdie took off his sweater and climbed on the bed, his bare chest looking kind of cold. I took off my sweater and shirt also, throwing them somewhere. I got on top of Birdie and rested my head over his heart. I felt him chuckle and pull me closer.

"Y-you know... it's amazing how much I trust y-you with me, to not t-take advantage of me or something"

"Had some bad experiences with leibe, Birdie?"

"O-oui... Sakura was cheating on me with a Greek girl, Kris... was mentally abusive and Toris took a-advantage of me and only u-used me to get better grades..."

I frowned and pulled myself up to face him. His face was red and his eyes were wide... he looked fucking adorable. Awesome even. I pressed our foreheads together and looked him in the eye.

"I won't ever do that to you Birdie... you are too awesome and special to me for me to do any of that stuff" I whispered. A soft smile graced Mattie's face. He threaded a hand through my hair as he whispered back.

"I-I know... that's why you are my safe place"

"And you are my happy place"

Our lips finally connected in a slow, sweet kiss. We both poured all our awesome love into it. I propped myself up on my elbows and cupped his face, while Birdie's other arm was around my shoulders. We kissed for a while, stopping quickly for breath then continuing. When we broke the kiss for the last time we just looked at each other, smiling gently.

Ludwig wasn't home yet and for that I was awesomely grateful. We hadn't had a lot of time alone as awesome lovers, so those moments were... absolutely awesome. Judging from his face, Birdie thought so too.


	15. Chapter 15

Bruder got home about 40 minutes later. Me and Birdie had twisted around each other so much that I couldn't tell who's limbs awesomely belonged to who. So, when we were called upstairs, we had an unawesome time trying to untangle ourselves. Eventually, bruder just came down the stairs to talk to us. I sighed and hugged Birdie close to my chest again. Birdie snuggled closer, loving the warmth. I smiled into his hair and hugged him a little tighter. Luddy was standing at the door frame, looking at us with a very weird smile. And I say weird because Luddy didn't smile. Ever. Not even when we were little. I know, right? Unawesome!

"Bruder... I just came down to confirm that you and Matthew are dating now"

"Luddy... honestly, who wouldn't want to date this piece of awesomeness?"

"Stop being so conceited bruder, I-"

"I was talking about Birdie"

I felt Mattie's face go red. He smiled against my collarbone and kissed it. I brushed his cheek with my thumb and felt him shift closer.

"Gilbert"

"Ja?"

"Are you happy with him?"

"More than happy, bruder. I am a thousand times more awesome with him!"

"Have you fucked him yet?"

"Nein... I actually love Birdie when I'm outside his body, and I don't show affection only during sex"

"Low blow, bruder"

"You know it's true!"

'L-Ludwig... not to be rude o-or anything but you killed the mood..."

I lifted Birdie's head up with a finger and pressed our foreheads together. I felt him thread a hand through my hair again and I smiled. We kissed again, this time also slow and awesomely sweet. I could feel Birdie shift closer again, so I could feel every inch of his chest and stomache against mine. When we pulled away, Luddy was standing at the doorway still. he frowned at us.

"Bruder... how do you do that?"

"Do what? Awesomely kiss my lover?"

Birdie buried his face in my collarbone again, but I could feel him smile.

"Well... sort of. H-How do you do that with that much emotion?"

"...Have you ever kissed Feli outside of sex?"

"..."

"I'm taking that as a nein... and a fail. You do love Feli, and not just for his body, ja?"

"...Not to sound like a complete asshole, but... I guess I never thought of it like that"

"Really bruder? Did you ever think of doing something nice for him that doesn't include a bed and lube?"

"if I say nein will you and Mat teach me how to... you know, make Feli happy outside of bed?"

Bruder's face was so red it looked like a tomato. Seriously! If I stuck his face in a tomato field, the people who have to pick the tomatoes would try and pick his face. Or maybe they wouldn't because that's one damned ugly tomato, kesesese!

"Ja, ja just give us a couple more minutes then call Feli over and we'll see what we can do"

"Danke... and he's already over"

"Nyeh! Don't wanna unawesomely move!"

Birdie sighed in happiness and snuggled closer, as if to say he agreed with me. Once bruder was upstairs, I felt Mattie chuckle.

"H-he really is hopeless at love..."

"Ja. He is so unawesome he doesn' know what makes Feli happy. With the awesome you, I know that cuddling and kissing and stuff makes you happy"

"I-it makes you happy as well"

I gave him a quick peck on the lips and smiled.

"Ja... but seeing you smile makes me more awesomely happy"

"W-why?"

"because your face is made to be smiling, vogel. Seeing you frown makes the awesome me slightly... sad?"

"Aah... that's why you frown when I do... w-well, I think your smile and y-your smirk a-are beau"

I smiled and hugged Birdie closer for a few seconds. Then I pulled back and looked at mein liebe with a light smirk.

"Well, we shouldn't keep Luddy waiting any more, ja?"

"O-oui"

We untangled ourselves and walked upstairs, hand in hand. Ludwig and Feli were on the couch. Bruder was attempting to get Feliciano to sit beside him, but Feli wanted to sit on him. I would let Birdie sit on me any day! In fact, since they occupied the couch that's what I did. Birdie wrapped his arms around my neck and smiled. My arms wrapped around his waist and I pulled him slightly closer. I looked at Luddy and smirked.

"Rule number one: listen to everything the awesome us says, even if you suddenly get horny or something. I don't know, your kinks are weird"

Ludwig stopped fighting and looked at us.

"Ja, fine"

"Luddy! Gilbert is letting Matteo sit on his lap, why can't I sit on yours?"

"Because there is a while other cushion"

I rolled my eyes and looked at Birdie. He was trying to bite back a sarcastic comment, but instead he offered some help.

"L-Ludwig, lie down on the couch a-and let Feliciano rest o-on top of you"

"But wouldn't that imply a sexual situation?"

"Nein, me and Birdie lie together and we don't feel the need to fick"

Ludwig frowned, but did as he was asked. Feli immediately jumped on top of him and lyed down on him, smiling brightly.

"Ve, Luddy! We're actually doing something that doesn't involve chains or whips or weird use of-"

"WHAT IS the next thing?"

"Try k-kissing him without sticking y-your tongue in"

Luddy tried, but sort of failed miserably. I rolled my eyes and looked at Birdie.

"Shall we demonstrate?"

Birdie nodded and his hand went in my hair again. I nuzzled his cheek and looked at him with a gentle smile.

"Put everything into it, Birdie"

Mattie nodded and got close to my face.

"Je t'aime"

"Ich liebe dich" I whispered against his lips.

And then we had what can only be described as the most awesome, mind-blowing kiss ever. I awesomely forgot everything except for the fact that Mattie was in my arms and pressed against my mouth. I leaned him down so his head was resting on the arm of the couch. Both of his hands wrapped around my neck and I ran my knuckles up his spine. With the other hand I stroked Birdie's cheek. Birdie melted into every touch I gave him. When we finally broke apart, we hugged each other close, gasping.

"B-Birdie... that was awesome"

"O-oui... d-do you think they got it?"

"They? Ooooooh right, Feli and bruder are having awesome advice from the awesome us!"

"Y-you forgot, d-didn't you"

'Nein... sort of... but it's only because you're an awesome kisser!"

Birdie blushed and we sat up. Bruder was looking at us with a weird smile. Feli was getting a little restless, so bruder roughly held him down. Birdie looked at them, appearing to be awesomely thinking.

"L-Ludwig, you're a sadist, oui?"

"Wha- How did you know!?"

"Marks on F-Feli's neck"

"...Birdie, I'm almost unawesomely afraid to find out how you know that..."

"K-kinkiest parents ever..."

I smirked and raised a white eyebrow. He rolled his eyes and kissed my neck before nuzzling the spot.

"I-I'll tell you later... anyways, L-Ludwig. In BDSM, y-you try and break the person int-to a thing. Something that you can mould into whatever y-you want. Now, instead of treating h-him like a sex toy treat h-him like a human, a-and a lover"

Birdie cuddled closer to me as he was saying this. I kissed his forehead after he was done his speech thing. He blushed and hid his face behind my neck. Bruder's eyebrows dropped so low on his face they could be a moustache as he thought things over... damn that is one ugly moustache. I could probably awesomely pull it off... and I got a weird look from Birdie as I tried to.

"Gilbert... you have not touched Mat in... the way I do with Feli?"

I held Birdie closer and glared. No way was I making Birdie do that! We had only been going out for a day!

"Nein. And I will not push him to do that stuff. Ich liebe Mattie too much for that"

"But... you lye in bed with each other! Doesn't... that mean you have t-"

"L-Ludwig. Have you never cuddled w-with Feli?"

Feliciano, who had apparently fallen asleep on Ludwig's chest, sat up and smiled brightly while answering the question.

"Nope! This is the first time we've been on the same furniture without me getting my butt hurt!"

Me and Birdie looked at each other. We sighed and told them to go into the kitchen so we could talk. Birdie shifted so his knees were on the armrests of the chair and his awesome butt was on my lap. He looked at me like he was trying to figure out a math problem.

"G-Gil... did they... you know what on the first day?"

"Ja, I think so..."

"...That could be why Ludwig i-is like this"

"Like what? Like every time he sees Feli he gets a boner?"

"W-well... oui. Now, how do we get him to love Feli in a way other than sexual? B-because there is something there..."

"And you became the love expert when?" I said teasingly. Birdie blushed.

"P-papa is french... need I s-say more?"

I kissed him briefly and smirked. Birdie sat up and cocked his ear to the side, listening to something I couldn't hear. With the quietness of himself, he tiptoed to the kitchen. He stayed there, watching for a few seconds before softly running back. A pleased smile was on his face as he jumped back into my arms. Mattie snuggled against me and sighed happily.

"Th-they're kissing... and it looks like ours felt"

"Wow... damn we are awesome!"

"W-was there ever a-any doubt?"

I smirked and rubbed Birdie's back. He had taught my brother how to not fuck Feli every five minutes! With my awesome help, of course. The awesome us just cuddled in the chair, basking in the awesomeness of our success.

"Mnnh, Luddy!"

...So close!

(Sorry for late chapter yet again guys... life kinda came and bit me in the ass -_-)


	16. Chapter 16

After me and Birdie had fled downstairs and hid under the blanket for an hour (Thanks bruder, you unawesome asshole-pounding jerk!) It was safe for us to come up again. We took the blanket with us, not sure if it was actually safe. We found Feliciano passed out on the couch... and everything clean. I checked the kitchen floor and found it to be clean too. I sighed in relief and leaned against the wall, wondering what we were going to do during the sleepover. Birdie wiggled his way under my arm. I smirked and grabbed him by the waist, pulling him close to me again.

"M-maple!"

"Many Awesome People Living Everywhere?"

"W-what?"

"That's what maple is. See what I awesomely did there? Kesese!"

Birdie rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around my neck

"Oui, I saw what y-you did... i-its pretty clever"

"Kesesese! I'm like the raven in that aboriginal creation myth or something!"

"E-except for you didn't steal a piece of the sun"

"And what if I awesomely did?"

"Well... honestly I don't th-think it would make that much difference..."

"What if I stole a piece so awesomely huge that you could see a chunk missing from the sun?"

"Well, we wouldn't see it because you would burn th-the earth to a crisp long before you got here, a-and... I don't know, the sun's core would leak out a-and cause spontaneous combustion?"

"AWESOME! You know Birdie, we probably sound crazy talking about this"

"Ja, you do bruder. Now sit down somewhere"

I turned my head a little to the left and saw Bruder standing there... with two trays of nachos! FUCKING AWESOME! A smirk of awesomeness spread across my face as Birdie and I sat in the same chair as before. Luddy handed Mattie the tray and we started eating. Feli woke up as soon as he smelled the food and almost mauled bruder for it, kesesesese!

Bruder, in an act of... niceness, let Feli sit on him like Mattie was sitting on me. Me and Birdie fed each other the nachos, while bruder ate practically half his tray in one bite. What a dumbass. I coughed and got his attention, then made him watch me and Birdie. He frowned then attempted to do that, but ended up getting salsa all over Feliciano's face. Felicinao giggled and wiped the tomato-y goodness off.

"Ve, Luddy is trying! That makes me feel happy!"

"R-really? Just me trying to do that makes you happy?"

"Ve, si! It means you care about me!"

Luddy blushed and held Feli close to his side. Feli jumped into bruder's lap and hugged him. And I have to say, that was the most unawesomely awkward hug I've ever seen two people in liebe give each other. Birdie and I were the masters of holding each other, so awesomely we had to show up the awkward people taking over our couch. Birdie snuggled closer to me, wrapping us up in the blanket. I held him closer and kissed him on the forehead.

"Liebe, we are so awesome"

"Y-you more than me"

"Nein, you have to have equal awesomeness to me in order to date the awesome me!"

"Ve, Matteo is awesome?"

"Ja! Of course Birdie's awesome!"

"S-so... what a-are we going to do for the rest o-of the night? And w-we still have school tomorrow..."

"Ja... well, it's six now, so we have six hours of awesomeness left before awesome sleeping time!"

"...We're sleeping somewhere other than the bed?"

"Ja! I want to sleep on the floor!"

"..."

"Not down there, liebe. Up here! And Luddy and Feli can sleep on the couch and it will be an actual sleepover of awesomeness!"

"Ve, Luddy can we? Pleeeeeeeeease?"

Mattie and Luddy looked at each other and sighed. They turned to us and smiled.

"Oui"

"Ja"

"AWESOME!"

"VE, YAY!"

Me and Feli hugged our respective boyfriends. Luddy just blushed, while Mattie hugged back. Damn, mein liebe is awesome! more awesome than Luddy and Feli and... Gilbird. Because no one can be more awesome than me. Speaking of Gilbird, he flew in and landed on Mattie's head, pecking in an awesome sort of manner. Birdie looked up and smiled at the awesome yellow bird.

Of course, Feli wanted to play with Gilbird, so that's what we did for the next hour. After, we decided to do karaoke again. Because last time... I found some dried blood in my ears. That's how terrible it was. Since there were four of us, we decided to do duets only. Which meant that me and Birdie had an unfair advantage, because we were both awesome singers. We chose to sing Phantom of the Opera. ( AN: Credit to Phantom of Prussia by Lady Locke) And I have to say, I make a damned good Phantom! Birdie also makes a good Christine.

Bruder and Feli kind of failed miserably and unawesomely. Which was funny. After the singing fail, Feli had brought Monopoly with him so we played that. Bruder was the banker, since I was to awesome for it... and Birdie didn't trust me to not screw everyone over. Which is a totally unawesome assumption! I would only screw bruder over, keseseseses! Anyways, it ended up being a tie between bruder and Birdie. Me and Feli somehow both ended up in jail. Which was fine by me, free meals! And the little car thing looked pretty badass sitting in the middle of the jail. Using Feli's thumb tack as a hat was also awesome.

We decided to have some 'couple time' after, to celebrate both team's tie. I jumped on the couch before bruder and Feli could get to it and pulled Birdie on top of me. He was a little shocked, especially since his glasses went in a weird angle on his face. Which was pretty cute. But, he settled down on top of me anyways and cuddled into my neck. Since bruder and Feli were in the kitchen, I had to ask something that had been bugging me.

"Birdie... why aren't you scared of my eyes?"

Mattie lifted himself up a little to face me.

"W-why?"

It took three seconds for him to get the reason.

"Y-you get called o-out for that at school, don't you?"

"Ja... 'Demon-Eyes' is another label I unawesomely get..."

"Huh... th-that's stupid. Your eyes are ruby coloured"

"What? Every time I go look in the somewhat awesome mirror they're blood fucking red!"

"M-maybe... but around me they turn ruby"

I looked Birdie in the face, studying his eyes. I noticed something cool and awesome!

"Birdie, I think your eyes get lighter when you're happy"

"Why?"

"Because when I met you, your eyes were really dark amethyst. Now, they're... sort of a violet colour"

"Th-then that's opposite to yours... yours get darker the happier you are"

Felli and luddy walked into the room. Well, attempted. Luddy slipped on something and faceplanted on the floor. I turned my awesome self and my awesome Birdie on our sides, so I could look at the fail that was my bruder. I smirked as he got up.

"Luddy, may I inquire as to the qualitative properties of the mystery substance you slipped in? Was it perhaps white with a little stickiness?"

...What? I had to brush up on my science words! Birdie was trying so hard not to laugh. He was literally shaking with the effort! Finally, he couldn't hold it in any more and started giggling. Bruder glared at him, but I glared back twice as... much? Bruder rolled his eyes and sat in the chair. Feli sat on top of Luddy. The dumbass almost pushed the poor Italian off him, but caught Feli at the last moment. Bruder looked at us, and his eyes went wide.

"Mat.. I never got a good look at your back before... what... i-is that a scar?"

I felt Birdie stiffen in my arms. I looked down at him, to see his eyes suddenly dark purple... not awesome! I mean, yeah they were an awesome colour, but the darker the colour the sadder Birdie was. He buried his face in my neck and I wrapped my arms around his back, covering the scar as best I could.

"Bruder, that is an unawesome subject. So don't bring it up"

"N-no, Gil it's fine"

Birdie sighed and flipped on his other side. His back was to my chest, and I could see bruder's ice-coloured eyes soften when he took in Birdie's sad, dark purple ones. Feli's eyes opened, and he looked at Mattie. Birdie sighed again and pressed back into me. I grabbed one of his hands and squeezed it for awesome support.

"My dad- not the one that comes around here b-but my other one- he dumped a-a pot of boiling water on my back..."

"Was?! Why?! You have been completely in line here!"

"B-because I skipped english for a whole w-week... I didn't like being reminded of A-Arthur"

I couldn't stop the loud growl that escaped my lips at the mention of that name. That bastard had done everything to Birdie to make mein liebe's life shit. It pissed me off just to hear Caterpillar Face's name.

Birdie sighed and flipped back around. I could feel that my eyes were tight. Mattie stroked my cheek and I attempted to calm down. After all, I did have the only person on earth equal to my awesomeness in my arms! Feli, sensing that things were tense, jumped up.

"Ve, let's watch Cinderella!"

Without waiting to hear anyone's reaction, he put the movie on and sat back with Luddy. Mattie finally smiled, which made me smirk. We sat up and moved over so bruder and Feli could sit with us. Mattie sat on my lap and smiled up at me.

"Th-this is one of my favourite movies... behind Finding Nemo, o-of course"

"Why?"

"B-because... I always thought I was Cinderella... guess I-I've found my prince, huh?"

Birdie smirked at my blush. He kissed each of my awesome cheeks and turned to watch the movie. I will admit, watching it with Birdie was entertaining. He knew almost every line and could sing all the songs. Mattie looked like a kid that was seeing the movie for the first time... on that note, so did Feli! Me and Luddy just looked at each other and smiled. For the first time (thanks to Birdie's complete awesomeness) bruder and I were actually bonding... somewhat.

When the movie was over, we decided it was time to sleep. I grabbed every blanket I could find and set them on the floor for Birdie and me to lie on. Bruder grabbed the blanket thing Birdie and me were using the day we got together and threw that over himself and his boyfriend. Birdie snuggled under our blanket and Gilbird turned out the light... hm. Maybe I can train him to do other awesome stuff! Like... send letters to unawesome people (like Roderich) proclaiming my awesomeness!... Awesome. Anyways, Birdie was smiling up at me, his eyes finally back to normal. I got under the covers with him and hugged him close. Birdie sighed happily and snuggled into my chest. I promptly fell asleep after that.

A few hours later, I was awakened by Birdie not being with me... my chest had gotten cold without him there. Not wanting to disturb Feli and Luddy, I didn't bother to turn on the light as I walked around with the blanket, trying to find mein missing liebe. I frowned, but was totally not worried because worrying is for unawesome people and Birdie. I shrugged and called Gilbird over to rest on my head. I clutched the blanket around myself and quietly opened the front door. Birdie was sitting on the front steps, looking up at the stars.

Birdie had come out without a sweater, but the mosquitoes weren't bothering him. I had a few on me, but they didn't like my blood a lot... apparently I had a rare blood type. Anyways, I smiled and sat beside Birdie on the steps. I looked up at the stars and felt a relaxed smile awesomely find it's way to my awesome face. The stars really were beautiful. They were so bright, it was almost like we were in the countryside. I looked back down and wrapped the blanket around Birdie's shoulders. He looked down and me and smiled shyly. I wrapped an arm around him and looked down at him.

"Birdie, what are you doing out here?"

"L-looking at the stars... i-its something I used to do a lot on the days A-... dad didn't hit me, o-or wasn't home. I-It's nice to get some fresh air"

"Ja... it was getting kind of stuffy in there"

Birdie looked back up, but frowned. I followed his gaze to the little dipper. I looked back at him to see a tear slipping out of his eye. I wiped it and Mattie looked down.

"G-Gil... remember that day I k-kind of blew up at you, b-because you knew your grandfather?"

"Ja... that was just on Sunday"

"Huh... it feels like so much longer a-ago... but a-anyways, I didn't tell you this but me a-and Al weren't always with Papa and dad. W-we got separated and Al and I-I went to aboriginal families. I went t-to a nice lady in Iqaluit... I have no idea where Al went. A-anyways, we were separat-ted for... hm... I was five, and w-we were allowed to go back when we were in g-grade five... eh. Aama taught me Inuktitut, a-and when we were separated... w-we emailed every day. She died three years ago... th-the little dipper w-was her favourite constellation"

I pulled Birdie into my lap. His face went to its spot on my shoulder, and again he just waited out the tears. When he was finally done, He looked... down... at me. I could see another thing he needed to say in his eyes. I smiled gently to encourage it out of Birdie. He smiled and chuckled a little.

"I-I know this is kind of random... b-but Gil... why are you so good t-to me?"

The question struck me as odd, but I answered anyways.

"Because you deserve it"

"Huh?"

"Birdie... so much shit has happened in your life. Something needs to counterbalance that, right? And if being with the awesome me does the job, then that's just awesome... because honestly Birdie... you make my life a thousand- no, a million times more awesome... now, we've both got someone who awesomely loves us for who we are, and won't spread fucking rumours or dump us for a chick"

Birdie smiled almost as warmly as when I confessed. He hugged me and kissed my neck.

"Y-you know Gil... the same goes for you. You... you've had it pretty rough from the start, oui? And... well, neither of our families show us much love... really, all w-we have is each other. But I guess th-that's a good thing, because with you... I'm the happiest I've ever been"

"Birdie... you know I love you more than awesomeness itself, right?"

"Oui... a-and you know I love you more than my own Papa, right?"

I lifted his head and answered him with a kiss. I could feel Birdie smiling against my lips. I was smiling too... and the kiss was awesome. Well, duh! The two most awesome people on earth were kissing, I was suprised the world didn't stop spinning from the sheer amount of awesomeness! When we pulled back, I smiled up at Birdie.

"Come on, let's awesomely go inside... we can light a candle if you want, liebe"

Birdie nodded and we stood up. I smirked and picked Birdie up, carrying him bridal style to the makeshift bed. I went to the basement and grabbed two of the small candles, the ones that wouldn't light the house on fire if they got tipped over. I set them on either side of the blankets and lit them. Birdie's face was immediately illuminated by the lights. He looked gorgeous in candlelight...

I layed down on the bed and set the blanket over us. Birdie cuddled against my chest again. I stroked his hair.

"Goodnight Mattie... I love you"

"I-I love you too Gil... goodnight"

Birdie was out almost immediately. I smiled against his hair, because this was the last thing I heard as I drifted off to sleep:

"Ve, Luddy I think they're perfect for each other!"

"Shush... but ja... I think you're right"


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning I woke up to find Birdie already dressed. He had crawled back under the blanket with me, but I could feel his thick red sweater. I cracked open an eye and looked at the awesome person in my arms.

"Guten morgen, liebe... your eyes are unawesomely dark"

"Oui... Lovino c-can't go easy o-on you anymore..."

"Why? Did Roder-ick do something?"

"Non... w-well, not exactly. He almost caught Lovi g-going easy on you..."

"Well... it's awesomely Friday, ja? After school we can do... something awesome?"

"Hah... s-sure"

I smiled and got out from under the covers. I walked to the basement and pulled on jeans and a sweater, with a shirt underneath. I grabbed the picture of me and Birdie together and put it in my backpack. When I got back upstairs, Birdie was waiting at the door for me. I walked over and gave him a goodbye kiss. I stroked his cheek and looked into his amethyst eyes.

"Birdie... right to breakfast club, ja?"

"O-oui... I'll talk to J-Joanne again... see how m-much french she knows"

Birdie kissed me and headed out the door. I leaned against the wall, listening to bruder tell Feli not to tell about Birdie for five minutes. Once Feli finally got it, bruder grabbed me and dragged me out the door. I struggled against him, but somehow he managed to drag me to hell... school. I awesomely meant school.

Though hell would have been more appropriate. Standing next to Roderich was his girlfriend and my ex, Elizaveta. She didn't have her frying pan with her, thank goodness. But I had a feeling she wasn't there to do only physical damage. I quickly glanced to my right and saw Birdie from the window of Breakfast Club. I sighed and looked back. I honestly did not want to deal with this right now... I just wanted to get to Birdie. Elizaveta smirked.

"So, Gilbo, how have you been?"

I spat near her and glared.

"Oh, not speaking, I see? Well, that makes things a little easier on me. I won't have to hear your annoying voice, always saying you are awesome. When I left you, you have been the exact opposite. How awesome are you now, _Gilbert?_"

I wasn't listening. My mind had slipped to the though of Birdie in candlelight. Yeah, kind of mushy and slightly unawesome, I know. But, whatever. The she-devil's words slipped through my trance. I didn't bother to respond, I was awesome and I knew it! I just couldn't answer without mentioning Birdie though...

Roderich smirked and kissed Elizaveta on the cheek.

"Doesn't it hurt, Ghost boy? Doesn't it hurt to see your ex with your worst enemy, your 'master', so to speak?"

"When are we going to beat him up, Rod? My fists are getting slightly fucking impatient"

"We aren't going to do it. Lizzy is"

Ludwig held me in place as Elizaveta started punching me. Now, though she is a girl, her punches are strong. Stronger than Lovino's. So it was a bitch to try and stay silent. I somehow managed to, which proved my awesomeness. When the bitch was finally done, I let out a small noise and fell to the ground. She picked me up and slapped me across the face.

"You are a fool who has deluded himself into calling himself awesome. And you can't see the light. You can't come crawling back; how sad. Enjoy a life of loneliness and pain, _Gilbert_"

With that she let me fall to the ground et again. Lovino kicked me in the stomache and walked away with the rest of the bastard bunch. As soon as I was sure they were gone, I got up and inspected the damage. There were a few cuts that hadn't quite healed yet. She managed to reopen them, and they stung. I pulled my clothes back on and walked to breakfast club. My eyes were blurry with tears. I know it's unawesome, but... her words stung. I was awesome and I knew it! But... that last sentence really got to me. As soon as I was in the door Birdie ran to get my food. I sat down on a chair and let my forehead smack the table with a low thump.

"Oh no... Matthew, you said you saw a girl with them?"

"Oui"

"... Go comfort him. He really needs it"

At that the sobs errupted from my frame. I heard Birdie run over, and I didn't know how I did it but somehow I got him on my lap and my face found it's way to the spot between Birdie's neck and shoulder. I cried hard, just letting it all out. I gripped Mattie closer because for some reason I was afraid he would go. That must have slipped out.

"Gil... I-I'm not going anywhere. Ick libeh deek? Agh... Je t'aime. I will n-never ever leave you"

I gripped Birdie closer and forced myself to stop crying. But Elizaveta's last words echoed in my mind. I whispered what she said to Birdie and felt him growl. He clutched me closer to him and whispered in my ear.

"Gilbert... you won't have loneliness when I'm here and you know it. Pain, perhaps. But, we are awesome together... much more awesome than that girl ever could be. She doesn't see what a blessing you are to the world... and to me. Pain... I can't carry it but I can carry you"

I chuckled and lifted my head. I smiled a small smile and looked at Birdie

"You quoted Sam from Lord of the Rings"

"Oui, oui I did"

"You are awesome, Birdie"

I hugged him close, this time smiling.

"Oh, and it's Ich liebe dich, not ick libeh deek... awesome try though"

"Merci... a-are you okay now?"

"Ja... just..." I sighed. "Just don't unawesomely leave unless you have to"

"W-why?"

"I had unawesome issues with loneliness back when I was with the she devil... This tends to unawesomely happen again whenever she talks to me about that subject... and now that very unawesome side of me is out for a while"

"Gil... I will b-be right here. I-I'm not going anywhere"

"Danke Matthew... you have to be the most understanding and awesome person on Earth"

Birdie simply hugged me closer. When I was finally okay, I lifted my head off Birdie's shoulder and smiled at him. I then looked at Joanne, who was smiling.

"Matthew, that was the fastest he's ever calmed down... you are something else"

"Non... Gil j-just trusts me"

"And is in liebe with you"

Birdie smiled and kissed my neck. I couldn't believe how quickly he had gotten me at least a little better! Usually it took a good three periods for me to stop crying and I would be unawesomely bugging bruder for days after. And yes, there is an unawesome way to bug bruder. It's the way that I would follow him like a dog, because I needed someone there. Joanne set my food on the table for me and sat opposite to me and Birdie. I kept Mattie on my lap as I ate... what? I was being slightly unawesome, okay!? But it was the she-devil's fault, so I didn't lose any awesome points. Gott. I gave Birdie some of the wurst because it looked like they had been worrying about the awesome me's appetite. I smirked as I got an awesome idea!

"Birdie, you wanna play the pocky game with the wurst?"

"W-what's the pocky game?"

Joanne smiled and looked at me, but there was a warning in her eyes. I was to do it right, or not at all. I smirked and grabbed one of the wursts.

"We awesomely hold each end of this in our mouths, then nibble on it until we kiss. Then we gotta bite it off. The one with the biggest piece bitten off wins!"

Birdie nodded and we got ready. Joanne gave us the go ahead, and we started. I put a hand around Birdie's shoulders so he wouldn't back off. When our lips finally met, we kissed for a little longer than we had to. Birdie surprised me by biting the wurst and winning. I kissed him on the cheek as a reward and picked up another wurst. We played the pocky game until they were all finished and the final score was Birdie: 3 Me: 4. We said goodbye to Joanne after that, thanking her for everything. She just waved us off and told us to get to class.

I don't need to tell you how unawesome the rest of my morning was. When the bell finally rang for lunch, I sprinted to the bathroom. Birdie was waiting for me on the counter again, probably expecting me to be a mess. Which I unawesomely was. I cried on his shoulder again while he rubbed my back, hoping to calm me down. I just wanted to flop on our bed and fall asleep with Birdie in my arms... that would have been awesome.

When the bell rang to end lunch I wiped my tears and sat up straight. Mattie caressed my cheek and gave me a small smile, knowing it would help. I attempted to smile back, but probably failed. We got our stuff and headed to art, where Ms Braginskaya was waiting for us. She frowned when she saw how the awesome me was still leaking awesomeness, but smiled when she saw how Mattie's arm was around me. I dug in my backpack and found the portrait of me and Birdie and handed it to her. She smiled at it and wrote A+ on the back. For the rest of the period Mattie and me flipped between me awesomely helping him draw` and him awesomely helping comfort me.

When it was time for history, we got our bags and left. I honestly wasn't much better, but having Birdie was really helping. Mr Zwingli called us both out of the room with him. I leaned against the wall again and held Birdie's hand. He rubbed the back of my hand with him thumb, drawing small then large circles. Mr Zwingli sighed.

"I don't like to do this, but I think you need to go home early"

"Is Birdie coming with me?"

"Yes, why else would I call you both out? Now get your stuff and go, I have to make up some excuse for why I sent you home"

"M-merci, Mr Zwingli"

"Yeah, yeah, get going"

Birdie and me both already had our stuff so we just walked out the door. Birdie was holding my hand the entire walk home. When we got to the house, I dropped my backpack on the front steps and opened the door. Birdie dropped his bag just inside the door and followed me to the basement. I flopped on the bed on my stomache, but that wasn't a very awesome idea.

"Ow, motherfucker!"

I ripped off my sweater and saw that some of the blood had gone through my shirt.

"Shit, we forgot to get Sara to bandage these"

"I-I've got it"

Birdie got the medical stuff and bandaged me in five minutes. He sat back on the bed and looked at me with a small smile.

"Y-you want cuddle treatment, o-or can we watch Lord of the Rings?"

"Kese, who says we can't do both?"

Birdie smiled and got off the bed. We walked upstairs and Mattie sat on the couch, waiting for me. I bent over to try and find the movies (extended version, of course). I heard Birdie stand up. I figured it was just to take his sweater off. When I found the movies I stood back up, and saw Birdie straightening his back. I smirked.

"Birdie, were you staring at my awesome ass?"

"Maaaaybe"

"Kesese!"

I kissed Birdie's forehead and put in the first movie. I grabbed our blanket off the floor and sat down on the couch so that my back was to the armrest. Mattie climbed on top of me and chuckled.

"Y-you know, you can probably do the Smeagol voice"

"Probably... shall I awesomely try?"

I wrapped the blanket around us and Birdie settled on top of me.

"W-when the part comes"

Birdie pressed against me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. He rested his head on my chest and sighed happily. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close, occasionally kissing the top of his head. We cuddled and watched the movies. Both me and Birdie could quote some of the lines,so we had an awesome quote-off! When bruder came home, he saw us and decided to leave us alone. Luddy was probably glad that I would be following Birdie around instead of him. Halfway through the battle of Helm's Deep, there were three knocks on the door. Birdie kissed me and went to go answer it. He opened it and I saw another head of blond hair, but something was definitely wrong.

"Papa! Mon dieu!"

That could not be good...


	18. Chapter 18

I got up and ran to the front door. Francis was in the doorway, just barely standing. Me and Birdie helped him in the house and laid him down on the couch. I glanced at my hand and saw blood on it... and I was sure it wasn't mine. I looked at his arm closely, and saw blood pooling in the fabric of his shirt.

"Shit, Birdie he's bleeding!"

"Q-quoi?! Oh mon dieu, Gil, court dans l'escalier et obteni le bandés pour moi sil vous plait!"

I ran and got the bandages like I hoped he asked... now I was regretting not paying more attention in french. I also grabbed the peroxide, a bag of cotton balls and a cloth because I didn't know what had been unawesomely used to make Francis bleed. I ran back upstairs and dropped the items in front of Mattie, who had taken off his father's shirt and was looking at the injuries. I saw a small sigh of relief pass through his lips as he sat back.

"Papa, y-you won't n-need to go to the hospital... they're not bad enough for that"

"Ah... merci for doing this pour moi, anges"

Birdie looked at the items on the floor and smiled.

"I-I didn't think you understood me"

Birdie poured the medical liquid stuff in a bowl and dipped a few cotton balls in it. He handed two to me and we started helping Francis. Partway through, bruder came downstairs and started helping. There were cuts all over Francis's body, not just on his arm. I couldn't believe he had actually been able to walk to the house! Francis was biting his hand hard to keep from crying out in pain. I gave him a sympathetic look and finished cleaning the wound I had found on his arm. I then bandaged it like Birdie had done to me when I was unawesomely hurt. Mattie and Luddy wrapped Francis's chest and stomache in the bandages. There were a few cuts on his shoulderblades, so I wrapped those too. When we were finally done, Francis laid back down on the couch. I grabbed a blanket and draped it over him. He turned on his side and cracked a small smile.

"Merci everyone... I knew I came to the right place"

"Mr Bonnefoy-Kirkland, what happened?"

Francis frowned and looked at Birdie, who sighed. I sat down on the floor and he climbed in my lap. I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed his neck. Francis smiled at us before answering Ludwig's question.

"I suppose Mattheiu 'asn't told you about the conditions 'e came from?"

"Nein..."

"Ah. Well, mon 'usband Arthur is... a slight bit abusive..."

I sucked on Birdie's shoulder to distract myself. I really didn't want to blow up, even though Francis was watering down the situation.

"A-a slight bit abusive? R-really, Papa?"

"Okay, fine. He is trés abusive... you must 'ave seen the scars on man ange, oui?"

Bruder shook his head. I turned Mattie to face me so I could see how the subject was affecting him. His eyes were a mix between amethyst and violet and I swear I saw them swirling. I kissed his cheek and he stood up. Ludwig studied all the scars on mein liebe's body. His face remained neutral until he looked at the one on Birdie's back. I saw bruder's eyes widen as he took in the sheer size of it. Once birdie had settled back in my lap I sent back to sucking the same spot on his shoulder. Francis went back to telling his and Birdie's story.

"Well, the one on 'is back is from a pot of boiling water, the rest are from a knife... Arthur did this all the time, so I pulled Mattheiu away from 'im for a little while and sent him to school in Québec... but 'e said it didn't feel right, so we moved back 'ere. Since Mattheiu 'as been gone, Arthur 'as calmed down... but tonight 'e got drunk..."

"Oh no... Papa, did he...?"

"Non, I got out before 'e was quite that 'ammered"

Ludwig nodded and looked at me.

"Gilbert... for once I think you did something right by meeting these two"

I smiled and nuzzled Birdie's neck.

"Ja, I know I did something right"

Birdie turned in my lap and hugged me. I held him tightly and rested chin on his shoulder, forgetting about everything for then. I opened an eye and saw Francis smiling at us. I felt Birdie mumble 'I love you' against my shoulder. I mumbled it back and felt him get even closer.

"Bruder... not to interrupt or anything, but can I watch the rest of the movies with you?"

Me and Birdie hugged each other close for a few seconds more before pulling back. We smiled at each other; Birdie's eyes a light violet and mine probably a dark ruby. I sighed happily and looked at bruder.

"Sure... me and Birdie are just going to be on the floor watching"

I looked at Francis, who was under the blanket to his neck. He chuckled.

"This is going to be kind of weird, oui?"

"Ja... but it's also going to be awesome because me and Birdie can take care of you all weekend!"

We put back on the movie and Birdie laid down in his side. I layed down and pulled him back so his back was to my chest. I shifted up slightly so I could see the movie. Bruder sat on the chair and more than once I felt eyes on my back. But, for once they weren't unawesome. Birdie and I must have fallen asleep because when my eyes opened, there was light in the room and something that smelled really good coming from the kitchen. I tried to turn Birdie on his back so I could see if he was awake. But he wouldn't budge. I tried turning him again, but he still wouldn't move. What was wrong?

I climbed over Mattie to his other side. He was definitely awake, but his eyes were squeezed shut. Francis walked in, seeing that I was having trouble getting Birdie to open his eyes. Francis frowned.

"'e must think 'e is still at the 'ouse... I would make crépes for 'im all the time after Arthur... you know"

At this Birdie's face suddenly got confused. He cracked an eye open to see my worried red ones staring back. Birdie blinked a few times, then realization slapped him in the face. He rolled onto his back and covered his eyes.

"M-maple... I-I'm sorry Gil"

"It's okay Birdie, we were talking about your unawesome old house before we fell asleep"

I could still feel that Mattie's body was tense, like he still didn't believe hat he wasn't dreaming. I leaned down and removed his arm from his eyes, wrapping it around my shoulders instead. He smiled and slid that hand up to rest in my hair. I climbed top of him kissed Birdie gently so he knew he was safe. I rubbed his sides and felt him wiggle his hips a little, probably trying to get me to press a little harder. I smiled and gave a little more pressure. When I pulled away, Birdie pulled me back down. I smiled and kissed him until we were both out of breath and slightly dizzy. I kissed Birdie's cheek and looked down at him to see if he was okay. Birdie surprised me by kissing me quickly.

"Th-thanks, Gil. I-I really needed that"

"Kesese, the awesome me is here to help my awesome Birdie"

Francis chuckled from where he stood. there was two plates in his hands, and a smile on his face.

"I made food for us, are you 'ungry?"

"P-papa! You need to rest!... j-just set the food down beside us, I-I guess"

Birdie and I had some much-needed cuddle time while Francis made some calls. He sat back down on the couch, looking pretty tired. Birdie twisted slightly so he could see his father. I buried my face in his hair and breathed in the scent of maple. A... most likely extremely dark ruby eye opened and I looked at Francis. He was smiling at us.

"Mon amis, are you going to eat?"

I turned us on our sides and fed Birdie some of the crépes. I ate the rest and looked between Birdie and Francis.

"We should probably change your bandages, huh?"

Francis chuckled and sat up. Birdie and I took almost ten minutes to detangle ourselves. We didn't put the medical shit back downstairs, so that saved time. It took a lot longer to change Francis's bandages than it took mine, because there were a lot more injuries that needed wrapping. Francis looked more like a mummy than I did, which was slightly unawesome. As soon as we were done re wrapping the french guy, I realised something.

"Hey guys... where's bruder? He's usually up by now..."

Birdie and I looked at his father. Francis looked like he was trying to remember something. We stared at each other for five minutes before he finally snapped his fingers and smiled.

"'e said 'e was going to a friend's 'ouse, et that a person named... Roderich might come looking for 'im?"

I looked at Birdie in panic. Shitshitshitshitshit where was I going to hide them?! I didn't know if Francis could go up or down stairs, and if he couldn't Birdie and I would have to carry him...

"Gilbert!"

"Was?"

Francis looked at me in concern. Birdie was even more concerned, if the fact that he was shaking slightly was anything to go by. I pulled Birdie into my arms and looked at Francis.

"We need to hide you two... Birdie can he go downstairs? Or to the attic?"

"Eh... maybe? How much t-t-time do we have left?"

"Anges, we 'ave to hide parce que?"

"Roderich can't find out that I have anything to do with Birdie or Birdie's going to be targeted too... I can't let that happen and you're already unawesomely hurt. So I gotta hide you two"

Francis nodded and stood up. I could see that it was causing him a lot of pain and I knew that we would have to carry him. I sighed and looked at Birdie, who was crying a little.

"Birdie... don't cry, okay? Smile, that's what your awesome face was made for"

Mattie gave me a little smile and I grinned back. Though it probably looked like an Ivan smile... which meant really creepy. (AN: I can do the Russia smile :D)

"G-Gil... where will m-me and Papa be most safe?"

"Agh... that's the unawesome thing... it would be easier for Francis to go in the basement and hide in the bathtub or something, but if Roderich somehow manages to get me down there, then... unawesome shit could happen. But, if you go in the attic, then we're going to have to carry him up the stairs"

Birdie nodded and stood up. He looked at me, and I swear I saw something awesome flash in his eyes.

"We're carrying him to the a-attic"

I nodded and grabbed Francis's legs. Birdie grabbed his arms and with much struggling, we managed to lift him to the top floor. We set him down to take a break. Francis chuckled.

"You are something else, anges... carrying a grown man up stairs to 'ide 'im in the attic"

"I-I'm going to be up there too..."

"Oui... I know ange, I don't think we can 'ave it any other way"

Birdie nodded and took a deep breath. We had left the trapdoor open last time, so that saved us precious and unawesome time. It took a few tries (and we almost dropped Francis... whoops) but we managed to get him up to the attic. Birdie came down and hugged me. I lifted his chin with one finger and looked him in the eye.

"Birdie... be safe, and don't move to much... ich liebe dich"

"We won't... je t'aime... d-don't get too hurt, o-oui?"

I kissed Birdie before answering. He kissed back with twice the ammount of passion he usually did, which I (awesomely) had to match.

"I'll try... drag a chest over the trap door like last time"

"Okay... be s-safe"

With that Birdie walked up the stairs. I put up the trap door and heard him drag a chest over it. I walked downstairs and heard the doorbell ring. Looks like we had been just in time.


	19. Chapter 19

I walked down stairs and opened the door. I expected to be met with a total douchebag aristocrat.

"Bastardo, Rod is coming, and he's bringing his bitch. Where is Matteo?"

It turned out to be Lovino... which was pretty shocking.

"I don't know"

"Bastardo, I know you know! You wouldn't put your fucking better half in danger!"

"And I should trust you because?"

"BASTARDO WE DON'T HAVE TIME! ROD IS COMING IN TEN MINUTES AND I NEED TO MAKE SURE MY FUCKING BEST FRIEND IS SAFE!"

I sighed. There was definite urgency in the golden-y brown eyes, like he actually cared... which was weird for Lovino. I sighed and just told him, knowing that there was no way he or anyone would be able to move the chest from the bottom anyways.

"He's in the attic"

"I thought that was boarded over! Aagh, nevermind bastardo, just make sure Matteo is safe"

With that Lovino ran off. I closed the door and walked to the couch, figuring I could rest before I got the shit kicked out of me. Because if Elizaveta was there... let's just say she would be very unawesome to yours awesomely. More unawesome than she was at school and if that brought me to unawesome tears then imagine what else she could do. I closed my eyes and played lyrics to songs in my head, trying to mash them together. It was something I used to do a lot before I met Birdie. Ten minutes later, I hears five hard knocks on the front door. Trying to look shocked (and not depressed) I opened the door. Rod-up-the-ass and she-devil were standing there, holding hands and looking at me with smirks.

"What do you want?"

"Where is your bruder?"

"I don't know"

"I'll ask you again: where is your bruder?"

"I don't fucking know! I woke up and he was gone!"

I felt a hard metal object connect with my stomache. It knocked the wind out of me. I bent over and clutched my stomache in pain. I felt the frying pan hit my back, knocking me on the ground. I was roughly dragged up by the hair and the Hungarian bitch held my arms behind my back. Honestly, if she weren't a girl I would have tried punching her... him...it...? But, since I have this thing where no matter what the chick has done to me I will not hit them, there was nothing I could do. Which sucked giant, unawesome blue fucking balls.

"In the house, Gilbo~"

I was pushed forward through the still open door. She-devil led me to the couch and told me to sit down while Roderich searched the house.

"He's not fucking here! How many times do I have to say it!?"

Elizaveta punched me a few times to get me to shut up. She huffed in a really bitchy kind of way. Then again, when wasn't she a bitch?

"Shut up. I prefer you at school, where I don't have to hear your annoying voice"

"You already used that one, dumbass"

"Shut up, or I'll hit you where it hurts... and you can't do anything back. Ah, how I love being a girl! I can do whatever I want to you, and you can't do a thing. How sad. So, how has your life been since I left you for a much stronger, better man?"

"Roder-ick is not strong. He is hiding behind three people, just to get at the awesome me. Which means, he's a coward"

"Really? Numbers means strength, your own bruder said that, didn't he? Roderich isn't hiding, he's just waiting for the right moment to strike at you. And as for the three people... we chose to help him because we see a... a true leader in him. Someone who can lead us-"

"To what!? You aren't going anywhere by just beating me up, you're just proving how stupid the four of you are! There is no point in going after one person over and over again!"

"Oh, there is" She paused to give me an evil smile. "Maybe it's nice to hear you not make a sound. Maybe it's a challenge for us to get a noise out of you, to push you so far down you can't get back up and you drown. And if you had anyone you cared about, trust me. We would go after them too. Face it, you're isolated. All alone... no one to cry to. No one to share this problem with, no one to make it better... your life is one huge disappointment. I'm suprised you made it this far, though... I would have expected you to do away with yourself looong ago"

...See? See what I had to go through, what this bitch did to me? I swear she was a demon, summoned by... probably Arthur. Birdie said his dad was into weird shit, right? Birdie... Birdie was safe, I had to believe that. There was no way Fuckass and Demon had any clue about him. I highly doubted Luddy would tell, and I knew for sure Lovino wouldn't.

"See? You're crying already. Did something I said strike a nerve? Like the fact that you'll die alone, the fact that everyone has left you behind?"

Now I refused to say anything. Roderich came back from upstairs, nodding to his demon bitch. She kicked me in the chest and left, holding the fuckass's hand.

Everything she said struck a nerve. I hated her, hated her with a passion. I hated her because she knew exactly what to say to get me to break down and cry... like I was doing then. There was a waterfall coming from my face. I attempted to yell for Birdie, but the only thing that came out was a strangled sob... not awesome! I sat on the couch for a few minutes, trying to control the flood pouring from my bright red eyes. Knowing I couldn't, I got up and closed the door. Yes, the fucktards had left it open.

I walked upstairs and opened the trap door to the attic. I knocked on it three times. My body felt so tired, like... like I had just been punched several times. I sat down on Grandpa Beilschmidt's bed. The thought of him ony fueled my crying. I didn't hear the chest moved from the door. I was too wrapped up in thoughts of unawesome shit. I did hear a few distorted renditions of my name, and just barely felt someone grab my hand. They gently led me downstairs, and I swear someone was following us. We walked to the basement, to me and Birdie's room. I blinked a few times and my head was a little clearer. Birdie was looking at me with... a lot of worry. We were standing in front of the bed, so I just climbed on it and layed down on my back, so I could look up at Birdie. He stroked my cheek, bringing me fully back to reality.

"Gil.. w-we heard yelling, then it got q-quiet... what happened?"

I closed my eyes and sighed.

"He brought Elizaveta with him..." I sighed and told mein liebe everything she had said. I opened my eyes as I was saying it and saw him shake his head. I also noticed Francis- HOW THE FICK HAD HE GOTTEN DOWN THE STAIRS?!... Anyways, I noticed Francis shaking his head also. Once I was done talking, Birdie climbed on top of me. He plopped down on my chest, resting his head on his hands so we could still see each other. Francis climbed on the bed with us, needing to sit down. I wrapped my arms around Mattie, feeling him breathe in time with me. When Birdie spoke his voice was softer than usual though he didn't stutter.

"Gil... she's wrong. About everything. I promised I would stay, and I intend to keep that promise. You know I will never leave you, that I will always be by your side, right?"

I nodded. Demon-whore's words still haunted me though... I just couldn't seem to shake them off. But there was no way I was submitting to them, not while Birdie was still here. I knew that he would always be there for me. I hoped that he could... somehow drag me out of this depression, like he did before. I felt my eyes get heavy, and the tired feeling returned. I just wanted to sleep everything off, and wake up holding Birdie... and hopefully be better. Birdie saw that there was still no life in my eyes... not that the awesome me was dead. Or even thinking about it. Hell no.

"Gil... she really a-affected you didn't she"

"Ja... she was the first person I ever loved... and she smashed my heart with a fucking wrecking ball"

My eyes had closed in the middle of the sentence. I felt Birdie stroke my cheek and softly ask me to look at him. I cracked open an eye and looked up at his sad amethyst eyes. Frowning, I momentarily forgot the fact that I was depressed and kissed Birdie's cheek.

"Liebe... don't you be sad. You are to awesome for that"

"But y-"

"Sh. Yes, I am awesome, but you are equal to my awesomeness, and we seems to balance each other out, ja? You should smile, even if it's just a small one... bitte?"

Birdie did smile a little at my pleading. I mean... at my awesome asking. I smiled softly.

"There we go... Birdie you wanna take a nap of awesomeness again?"

"Oui... Papa c-could you move over?"

Francis moved and I lifted me and Birdie over to the pillows. We didn't have a blanket, but that was fine. Birdie was pretty warm. I kissed Birdie's forehead and buried my face in his hair. He smelled like maple...

When I woke up, I noticed Birdie twitching in his sleep. My eyes flew open. He was having another nightmare! Francis was sleeping to Birdie's right, so he wouldn't be of much help. I whispered in Birdie's ear again, then quickly got out of the way.

"Birdie, Mattie wake up! Come on, bitte? Your awesomeness is to much for your nightmares, you can wake up! I know you can!"

"GILBERT, NO!"

Birdie screamed that at the top of his lungs when he bolted up. I gathered his now-shaking frame in my arms and hugged him close. I would tell him that hs screaming might have burst one of my awesome eardrums later. For right now, I had to work on stopping Birdie from crying. I rubbed his awesome back in an attempt to get him to calm down. Once the crying had slowed, I could finally ask him what the nightmare was.

"Vogel, was it the same unawesome nightmare as last time?"

"N-no... i-it was that you decided to jump off a cliff, and I cou-couldn't save you... a-as you fell you whispered that I broke my promise... a-and you appeared as an angel behind me a-after whispering f-for me to wake up"

I hugged Birdie close and felt my own tears slipping. He had been dreaming about me, that I would commit suicide! I guess... the stress over the last two days got to him in his dreams. I felt a sudden surge of determination. I would not let the Hungarian asshole's words get to me... I had Birdie with me after all. He was right, everything she said was void because of Birdie. I told him that and he smiled.

"Th-there you are"

"Hm? Have I not been acting like my awesome self?... Guess not, huh?"

"Oui... y-you've been scaring me"

I hugged Birdie closer.

"I'm so sorry Birdie... she..."

"I-I know, Gil. Trust me. I-If Sakura lived here, sh-she'd have the same effect on me"

"...I think that I am awesomely sticking to you, Birdie... you're to nice to do any of that unawesome shit"

"And I-I think I'm sticking with you, G-Gil... you're too caring t-to do any of that... 'unawesome shit'"

I kissed Birdie, silently telling him I was okay now. Francis had somehow not been awoken by us, so shrugging we decided to go back to sleep. I heard the front door open, but I didn't care. Birdie and Francis and the awesome me were safe. That's all that mattered right then.


	20. Chapter 20

When I woke up, I was somehow using Birdie's chest as a pillow. I felt Birdie rubbing my scalp, which felt relaxing. I lifted my head and looked at him with a light smile.

"You okay now, leibe?"

"Oui... but I didn't sleep again. S-so, I just made myself comfortable a-and warm"

"In other awesome words, you used the awesome me as a blanket?"

"...Oui. B-but that was only an hour ago, y-you've been passed out for three"

I sat up and found that Birdie had somehow dragged me on top of him. I smirked and leaned down on him, so almost all my weight was on him. Mattie rethreaded his fingers in my hair, knowing what I wanted to do... I guess what _we_ wanted to do. Not that there's awesome clones of the awesome me or anything, just that me and Birdie wanted to kiss... I'm going to stop ranting now. I tilted my head and met Birdie's lips. It was an awesome, reassuring kiss for the both of us. I felt Birdie's other hand rub circles on my shoulderblade. I wiggled my shoulders a bit and Birdie chuckled. He pulled back and smiled.

"Y-you want a massage? I-I've been told I-I'm really good at it"

"That would be pretty awesome... my muscles are probably so unawesomely tense"

"Probably... y-you want to sit up or lye down?"

In responce I flopped to the bed beside Birdie on my stomache. Then I noticed something.

"Birdie, where's Francis?"

"P-papa went upstairs... m-my screaming did wake him up, but h-he figured I was safe with you. H-he left... a couple minutes after you passed o-out"

I felt Birdie straddle my lower back. I propped myself up on my elbows and relaxed my shoulders. Birdie placed a kiss to my spine before laying his hands on my shoulders and giving me the most fucking awesome massage I've ever awesomely had.

"Oooh... ja, you are good at this, Mattie"

"G-glad you're enjoying it... am I going to hard?"

"Nein...aah, you've got it just right"

I turned my head to catch the smile I was sure Birdie was giving me. He was giving me a pleased look, to which I smilled. Birdie moved his right hand up a little and frowned.

"Wow... y-you're right, you are tense... y-you havn't gotten a chance to just relax in a while, have you?"

"Nein... but that's okay"

"W-why?"

"Because I have you! And you are an awesome breath of febreeze"

I felt Birdie chuckle as he worked the knot out.

"Th-that's an interesting metaphor... b-but I believe the expression is 'a breath of fresh air'"

"Ja, but febreeze smells more awesome!"

Birdie's smile this time was an amused smile. He leaned over and we somehow kissed quickly.

"S-so I'm your breath of febreeze?"

"Ja! Of course you are liebe, no one else can make me feel awesomely awesome!"

"Hm... w-well then you are my breath o-of winter air"

"You like winter?"

"Oui! S-sure it's cold, but its so... peacefully chaotic"

"How so?"

"B-because watching the snow itself fall is peaceful... th-the pure white colour a-and the way the ice forms on the pine trees is... just amazing. Th-the snowball fights, ice hockey, sledding, skating a-are what makes it e-enjoyably chaotic"

I thought over what Birdie had just said. His mind really worked in a poetic way, which was awesome. He could see things from five different angles that way! But then again, my awesome mind sort of worked like that too... I had done some pretty impressive drawings just from my awesome thoughts. But, I guess Birdie was right... sledding was pretty awesome and though I'd lived in the basement all my time there, watching snow fall was still relaxing. Though, I could never watch it for long. Otherwise I'd get bored and go start bothering Ludwig.

"You know Birdie, I think you're right"

"Merci... a-and your shoulders are good now... h-how do the feel?"

"Ah... awesomer than usual"

I felt Birdie's hand go up and down my back. I managed to stay pretty still while he was exploring. His weight shifted forward slightly, like Birdie was leaning.

"Gil.. y-you've got a couple scars on your back too"

"Doesn't surprise me... are they from last time?"

"O-oui, I think so"

Birdie started tracing things on my back. I grabbed a pillow and put my head on it, also wrapping my arms around it. I guess my back was sensitive, because it felt awesome when he was touching it! But that was a weird place... eh, whatever.

"Birdie, where are you sensitive?"

"T-to touch?"

"Nein, to paper towels, kesese!"

"Hm... I guess my sides... it felt really good when you were rubbing there... a-and along my spine"

"Ah... you wat to have awesome cuddle time now?"

"Oui... and Gil?"

"Ja?"

"This is the first alone time w-we've had in a while"

I smiled as I realised he was right. This _was_ some alone time, which I had been dying for. Birdie got off of me and layed down beside me, smiling. I caressed his cheek and got beside him. I reached for a blanket... but we didn't have any down here. Damnit! Mattie smiled again and kissed my cheek, silently telling me it was okay to go. I smiled down at him and ran to the stairs. I quietly walked up them and saw that our blanket was right at the top of the stairs. I grabbed it and slowly tugged it to me. Francis's head popped around the corner, along with his smile.

"'aving some time avec ton amour?"

"Ja"

"Bon! But if I 'ear any moans then I am coming down with a camera!"

"Kesesesese! Sadly for you then, we are awesomely waiting for a while before we do that"

"Good... oh, and I made supper... shall I just put it in the fridge for you?"

"Ja, danke!"

Francis nodded and disappeared into the kitchen again. I tied the blanket around my neck like a cape and ran down the stairs, feeling it flow behind me. A pleased smirk was on my face as I ran to the bed. Birdie just rolled his eyes and smiled. I shut the door, hoping that if bruder was home he'd get the clue to not bother us... actually, I should get a marker and write 'Do Not Disturb' on the door. But, I could make it look really cool... later. I jumped on top of Birdie and untied my cape. I plopped down beside Mattie and layed the blanket on top of us. I wrapped my arms around Birdie and pulled him closer to me. He smiled and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"I love you, Birdie"

The blush on his face increased by a crazy amount. I guess he liked it when I said it randomly... good to know!

"I-ich liebe dich auch... d-did I get it right this time?"

"Ja... good job liebe!"

"M-merci... I was practicing when y-you were asleep"

I smiled and hugged Birdie. He settled into the hold, gently placing kisses along my arms as I rubbed his sides again. I leaned down and kissed his neck. Mattie gave me a sigh of happiness and started rubbing my back. That continued on for a while until we just twisted around each other like vines of awesomeness. Francis came down and knocked on the door twice. Neither of us wanted to move to open it for him, so we just snuggled closer to each other. Birdie was so warm; I didn't want to ever let go! Eventually Francis just decided to open the door. He smiled when he saw us.

"Gilbert, your frére requested that you come up to see 'im... I will tell 'im you're a little busy at the moment"

"Danke Francis"

The french guy smiled and closed the door. Birdie and me cuddled for about half an hour more before Birdie twisted to face me.

"W-well, should we go see Ludwig now"

"Don't wanna mooooove!"

"Y-you sound like a cow"

"Moo"

Mattie chuckled, which brought a gentle smile to my face. We untangled ourselves and got up. We held hands as we walked upstairs, wondering what bruder interrupted awesome time for.

(AAAGH I AM SO SORRY THIS IS LATE! Darn you Pewdiepie, you and your silent hill playing -_-)


	21. Chapter 21

When we got to the living room, the seats were full. Feli was sitting on Ludwig, Lovino was sitting... on someone, and Francis was sitting in the chair. So I sat on the floor and pulled Birdie in my lap. Lovino rolled his eyes.

"Bastardo, you don't have to sit on the floor. You're not a fucking dog"

I saw Mattie smirk. He got off me and went on all fours in front of me.

"Woof!"

He started panting like a dog, getting a chuckle out of Francis, Feli and and the random person. I smirked and pulled Mattie back into my lap.

"Down Birdie!"

Birdie barked softly and got out of my lap again. He did a few circles before I opened my legs and he flopped between them. He used my right leg as a pillow and was under my other leg. I bent down and kissed Mattie's neck.

"Good boy, Birdie"

"Oh my goodness SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

"Ve, fratello! Don't be mean!"

"Si, be nice to your best friend!"

Birdie eyed the guy wearily. I stroked his hair to try and get him to calm down Lovino rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Matteo, th-this is the bastard I moved in with... you remember me talking about Tomato Bastard a few years ago?"

"Oh, Lovi that is so cute! You had a crush on me even before we started going out!"

"Shut up, stupid tomato bastard..."

Lovino had a serious blush on his face. Luddy was looking at me and Birdie with a smile and Francis was in the chair, his torso, arm and shoulder still wrapped. He caught me staring and winked.

"I got everyone else to change them while you and mon ange were downstairs... I'm assuming nothing 'appened? Otherwise one of you would have a limp, honhon!... Or both"

"Nein, nothing happened. With Bruder and Feli, however, I'm not so sure... speaking of which, Luddy where were you?"

Feli's eyes opened and suddenly filled with jumped off of Luddy's lap and landed on top of Mattie.

"VE, I'M SO SORRY! I WANTED LUDDY TO COME OVER TODAY SO GRANDPA ROMULUS COULD SEE THAT WE WEREN'T MAKING AMO, THEN I DIDN'T REALISE THAT LUDDY WAS GOING TO GET CHECKED UP ON BY RODDY AND I FORGOT THAT MATTEO AND FRANCIS WERE HERE! I PUT YOU ALL IN DANGER, I'M SO SOOOOOORYY!"

...Well, that explained pretty much everything. Birdie patted Feli's shoulder and smiled gently. Feli got off of him and climbed back in bruder's lap.

"I-it's okay... we're all fine, so it doesn't matter"

"Ja... well, mostly"

Mattie turned on his back and pulled my face down for a kiss. I was a little surprised, but of course awesomely kissed back. I cupped his cheek and smiled a bit into the kiss, telling him that I was okay. We pulled back when we were breathless and Birdie hid his face in my leg, obviously embarrassed. We did kiss in front of five people, after all. I chuckled and stroked his hair... it was still so soft. I looked at the Spanish guy and smirked.

"So, what's your awesome name?"

"Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo!"

"How old are you?"

"I'm nineteen, fresh out of highschool! Oh! And who are you? Are you the person who mi amor was talking about?"

"Depends on who he was talking about"

"Mateo?"

"Nein, I'm Gilbert the awesome! The awesome guy in my lap is Mattie"

"Oh... si! Mateo you have a very nice father by the way~"

"M-merci..."

Luddy looked at me with a serious appology in his eyes.

"Bruder... It's really my fault... and where did you hide Mat and Francis?"

"Attic, awesomely... we carried Francis up there"

"Ah.. what did... what did Roderich do?"

Birdie's eyes flew open. He hugged me so fast I almost fell over, but at the last second I caught us. I could feel the dead look re-entering my eyes. Birdie was whispering 'No, Gil I'm right here' over and over again, like it was his mantra. Tears welled up, but I absolutely refused to let them through. I sat up and held Birdie close to me. Lovino rolled his eyes and looked-... glared at my brother.

"The fucktard brought his demon-bitch"

"Lovi, that's not very nice! I'm sure deep down she's a good person"

"Bastardo, if you knew what she's done to Gilbert... hell, I don't even know the half of it. But, that idiota is pure evil"

"He's right... she's hurt bruder worse than we ever could... before Mat, after he'd had to deal with her he'd follow me around like a dog all day or week, depending on how bad it was"

"Dios mio! So Gilbert turned into a dog?"

"NO YOU DAMNED TOMATO BASTARD, IT WAS A SIMILE!"

"...Oh, that thing where you used the example 'Antonio is stupid like a donkey'?"

"Si, bastardo. That thing... shouldn't you know this anyways? You've graduated for crying out loud!"

"Heh... I'm allowed to forget things Lovi, no one's perfect~"

Lovino rolled his eyes again and shifted closer to his boyfriend. I still refused to let the tears come out of my eyes. I had cried enough over her; there was no point in it anymore. I had Birdie, and he was all I'd ever need in a lover. Bruder was looking at me weird, and not the smile kind of weird. His eyes were bulging a little and they looked like ice.

"Was?"

"Bruder... how did you not cry? We were talking about Elizaveta!"

I smiled and nuzzled the spot between Birdie's neck and shoulder. I kind of spoke into the spot, but whatever. I waited a few seconds before I spoke.

"That's an easy one... it's because Birdie's here... and he is the absolute best I could ever ask for"

Birdie hugged me closer and I could feel him smiling against my neck. Francis, Antonio, and Feli went 'awww!' while bruder and Lovino just smiled. Yes, Lovino smiled. Which scared me a little. Birdie pulled back and looked at me with nothing but love in his eyes.

"I-ich liebe dich, Gil"

I smirked. Time to put what little french I knew into action!

"Je t'aime aussi, oiseau"

This time I did get tackled to the floor, but the blankets were still there so it softened the landing. Birdie's grin was huge and his eyes were so bright I was sure they were shining on my face.

"DAMN RIGHT, TACKLE THE BASTARD!"

"Fratello, that wasn't a tackle out of meanness like you do to me, that was a love tackle!"

Birdie kissed my cheek and my neck.

"I-I thought you didn't speak french!"

"I know some"

"S-so you don't know a greeting sentence, b-but you know how to say y-you love me? You really are awesome, Gil"

I smiled hugely and hugged Birdie close. Lovino was whispering something about Birdie to Antonio, but eh... I didn't care. I felt one of our stomaches growl and Birdie sat up.

"W-was that you or me?"

"I don't know... hey, Francis, the awesome food is still in the fridge, right?"

"Oui, just 'eat it in the microwave"

Birdie got off of me and we got up. We went to the kitchen to find our food, because we were both starving. I opened the fridge and saw a version of shepherd's pie in a deep dish . There was potatoes on top and beef, corn, peas and carrots under it... it looked so awesomely yummy.

"Oi, Francis has everyone else eaten?"

"Oui, the rest is for you two!"

I was going to just eat it out of the dish, but then I realised that it wouldn't fit in the microwave. So I grabbed two plates and spit the food in half, microwaved it then dumped it back in the dish. Birdie just facepalmed and grabbed two forks. We walked out to the living room and set the dish between us as we sat down. We ate hungrily, because let's face it- terror, carrying a grown man up two flights of stairs, emotional unawesomeness and awesome cuddling can leave a guy pretty hungry!

Bruder probably thought that it would be awkward if the only thing the five of them were doing was watching the awesome us eat, so he turned on the TV. However, Feli got up and turned it off. Instead, he went to his bag at the door, pulled out a Wii console and a Wiimote... I'm just not going to make any comments on that. Anyways, Birdie and bruder set it up and Feli decided we should play Dance Central 3.

Feli of course went first, and he was pretty good. Birdie went next... and he danced 'It's Raining Men'. At one point I had to cross my legs, and I think you awesomely know why. What can I say, Mattie's a really...really good dancer! After a quick bathroom break, it was my turn. I did the Party Rock Anthem and I did fucking awesome at it! Lovino did California girls and was okay, even though he was really and awesomely embarassed. Ludwig... attempted some song that I can't awesomely remember, but I do remember him almost falling several times. Fail, bruder. Fail. Antonio and Francis took their turns and did pretty good, though I don't know the names of the songs.

Something beeped in the kitchen and Antonio ran. Apparently he was making something. He walked back in with a plate full of something and a huge grin... then again he hadn't stopped smiling this entire time... huh.

"Everyone, I made churros! Have one, they're really good!"

Birdie and me decided to play the pocky game with one. Feli and Antonio wanted to do it with their respective lovers because me and Birdie did it so awesomely! The churros really were fucking delicious. Birdie sat in my lap again and he looked really comfortable.. which was awesome. Antonio, Lovino and Feli left after that. Feli said we could keep the Wii, which was strange but awesome at the same time. I carried Birdie to the couch and set him on my lap again. Bruder looked at me with a small smile.

"I still don't understand how Mat was able to get you out of that... really bad state of mind... you must really have something there..."

Bruder's face fell a bit. I would have patted his shoulder if he wasn't on the other end of the couch, but... eh. I didn't want to move Birdie just to pat my bruder. Speaking of Birdie, he was lying down on me so his head was on his arms on the armrest and the rest of him was in my lap... he looked awesome, but I think he fell asleep. Francis had gone to the bathroom so it was just us three in the room. I smiled at bruder.

"You and Feli have something too, you just have to not be unawesomely afraid of going for it... with me and Birdie everything we do is natural to us. You however, run away from your emotions and are really more machine than Luddy... and bruder, I'm sure we could find a book that says exactly what to do in a relationship. Pretend you've already read that book and everything nice you do for Feli is from the book"

"Huh... tricking my mind... that might work bruder..."

"Well, of course it will work. I'm the awesome one who suggested it!"

I felt Birdie shift in my arms and on the couch. He smacked me gently in the face.

"Gil... c-could you be a little quieter? I-I'm tired..."

I smiled and rubbed his back.

"Sorry leibeling... you rest, I'll awesomely carry you down the stairs later. Sweet dreams"

Birdie pulled his hand back and rested his head on it again. I slipped his glasses off his face and set them on the spot beside me.

"M-merci, amour... je t'aime"

"Ich liebe dich auch, vogel. Guten nacht"

"Night"

I stroked Birdie's hair until he finally fell asleep. He curled up close to me and murmered something about hot chocolate... I guess he was dreaming about winter. I kissed Birdie's forehead and smiled. Bruder couched and got my awesome attention.

"So... and please don't get all pissy about this, because I'm being serious. How long are you going to wait until you and Mat... you know"

"Well... it all depends on what Birdie wants. If he wants to and he's sure, then fick ja! But if he does I want to wait a month, just so we're sure"

"Ah... perhaps that's what Feli and I should have done..."

"Eh, you've been dating for how long now? Obviously you're doing something right... you just gotta let your awesome emotions out"

Luddy smiled and nodded.

"Ja... I think I've got it now. Danke bruder"

"It was my awesome pleasure... we should probably get to awesome sleep. Its 12"

"Ja... guten nacht bruder"

"Night Luddy!"

Bruder went up the stairs just as Francis was coming down. I frowned, wondering about who was sleeping where. Francis saw my look and smiled.

"Don't worry, I will sleep on the couch. You et ton amour can sleep on your bed, if you wish... I am feeling much better than before... though one more day off of work couldn't 'urt, oui?"

I smiled and nodded. I said goodnight to Francis and scooped up Birdie in my arms. I carried him to our room and gently set him on the bed. I stared at his pj pants for a few seconds, wondering if I should change them. Trying not to wake Birdie up, I pulled them down a little to make sure he hadn't let little Mattie hang free. He was wearing beaver-print boxers. I gently slipped the pj pants off of him and set the blanket on top of him. After I was done changing into boxers, I got under the covers and used his chest as a pillow again. In his awesomeness Gilbird flicked off the light and flew in his cage.

The days unawesome events seemed like they happened a couple years ago. All the awesomeness that had just gone down make the awesome me and the maybe awesomer Birdie happy, and that was awesomeness in itself. I didn't know how awesome tomorrow would be, but whatever. As long as I knew Birdie would be waiting for me... we were both going to be fine.


	22. Chapter 22

For some reason, Birdie and me woke up an hour before we were supposed to. We snuggled for a little before Birdie looked like he had something to tell me. I stroked his cheek and he smiled, blushing slightly. And adorably.

"G-Gil, I've gotta shower... y-you can read through m-my writing book"

I could tell that it was a huge leap of faith for him and that this was one of the ultimate tests of his trust. I rolled off of him and smiled.

"That would be very awesome... when you come back look through my sketchbook of awesomeness"

Birdie nodded and smiled. He grabbed a towel and slung it over his shoulder, walking to the bathroom and closing the door. His writing book was on the nightstand, so I grabbed it and sat against the headboard. Mattie had dated all his stuff in there. The first thing was a poem and the year was 2010... he was in grade seven then. And... it seemed like in the poem he was cursing a math test... so he got the book after he'd been beat for the first time! Francis must have given it to him! The awesome me read every poem and short story in there. Occasionally I had to wipe the tears out of my eyes because everything... he really made you feel what he was feeling at the time. Most of his stuff was really metaphoric, which made it kind of interesting to figure out the meaning. The last one in the book was from the Sunday we hid in the attic, and here it is:

_I am falling.  
Endlessly into a pit of sorrow and despair  
No light to guide me on my way  
Only blackness that has infiltrated my very  
Soul  
The wind rushing through my ears  
The feeling of weightlessness  
The crushing terror  
Are the only things telling me that  
Somehow  
I am still alive._

_As I fall, I look down.  
On a rocky ledge sits  
An angel.  
His wings are copper and look weak  
They wrap around him, protecting him  
Tears are falling from his  
Ruby eyes  
Down his cheek to his  
Platinum skin  
He isn't wearing golden robes  
Just a pair of white jeans  
And a sword slung to his side._

_I stare as I fall.  
Our eyes connect, and suddenly his fill with  
Fear  
The ruby irises now a  
Bright red  
He stands up just as I  
Sweep past him.  
I see the wings unfurl  
They are weak, and all he can do  
Is glide  
He flies down, wings flapping and arm  
Outstretched._

_I close my eyes.  
How can this be anything  
But a hallucination?  
Has my utter loneliness  
And uselessness  
Finally driven me  
Insane?_

_Suddenly  
I feel strong arms catch me.  
I open my eyes and stare  
Into the smirking face of the angel.  
His wings are now  
Steel  
And much stronger.  
With a powerful beat of the  
Shining metal  
We shoot upwards, toward the  
Small speck of light  
That seems to be growing.  
He is bringing me out of the darkness and into the light  
He is my angel, saving me from  
My personal hell._

I re-read that poem a few times. I knew it was about the awesome me, but... there was something about it_._ Maybe it was the image that the last verse produced in my awesome mind. I didn't hear the shower turn off, nor did I hear Birdie come into the room. But suddenly, Mattie's head was on my shoulder and his arms were around my waist. I looked at him and he was smiling hugely.

"Y-you liked it, I'm guessing?"

"Birdie... your writing made the awesome me cry. And this last poem... was beyond awesome"

"You know... y-you're the first person I've ever let read my writing"

"And you're going to be the first person to awesomely see all my drawings"

I handed Mattie my sketchbook. I went back to the beginning of his poems and stuff and read them all again. They were just so powerfully awesome! I couldn't put it into words even if there was a word to describe it... that's how awesome they were. The image of the last one stuck in my brain the most, though. I looked at the wall opposite to the Prussia eagle one. It was completely empty because I had been saving it for some awesome project. My eyes widened and a huge smile spread across my face. I would paint the epic awesomeness of Birdie's poem! I could use the money Francis gave me, because Gilbird really didn't eat that much of his food. He mostly ate mine, so I still had all the money left over. But first, I needed Birdie's permission.

"Gil... th-that look says you just got an idea... a-and either there's a spider on that wall or you're going t-to paint something on it"

I looked at Birdie and grinned.

"You're right, liebe! About the painting, not the spider... I wouldn't be awesomely staring at it with a smile, kesesese!"

"A-and I'm guessing you're going to paint, oh, I don't know, something from my writing, perhaps?"

"Right again! Birdie, the last verse of the last poem gave the awesome me an awesome image... can I paint it on that wall?"

"S-sure... can you do a sketch first?"

"You done looking at all the other drawings of awesomeness?"

"Oui... I-I'm still blown away by them... a-and some of them made me cry a-also"

Birdie handed me the book and I grabbed a pencil. He watched as I did my sketch of the image. It was from the side. Mattie was in my arms and had his arms wrapped around my shoulders. The picture stopped at Mattie's knees, but I would have to extend it later. The top half of my wings were silver and the bottom half was copper. The steel looked like it was bleeding onto the copper, making it look really cool. Birdie and me were both looking up and there was just enough light around us to totally illuminate us. Everything else was rocky and dark, dusty brown. True to the poem, I didn't have a shirt on. When I was done I set down the pencil, looked at the drawing and smiled (for the record, I just drew a line away from the areas with colour and wrote down what colour it was supposed to be). Mattie looked at the drawing and a slow smile spread across his face.

"I-I still don't know how you can draw so well..."

"And the awesome me doesn't know how you are so good at poetry... I totally fail at it"

I set the sketchpad down and lifted Mattie on top of me. He snuggled into my chest and neck, breathing in my scent.

"Gil.. y-you smell so good in the morning"

"Ja? You smell good all the time, leibe..." I bent my head down to smell his hair "Smells like maple"

"Y-you smell like cinnamon... and awesomeness"

I smiled and held Birdie closer. Francis came down a little later and saw us cuddling. He knocked on the door though he knew I could see him.

"Mon anges, I just wanted to let vous know that I am leaving now... merci pour taking care of me- oof!"

Mattie got off of me and tackle-hugged his father. I sat up and smiled, but looked wearily at the bandages.

"You sure you don't want to stay an extra day, Francis? You are still unawesomely hurt"

"Oui..."

With Birdie still attached to him, he walked to the bed and sat down. I crawled closer so Birdie could be in my lap while still being close to Francis. As planned, Mattie crawled into my lap. His father looked at us with a sort-of smile.

"Mon amis... I didn't tell you why Arthur actually beat me up. And, I 'ave to go to court today"

"WAS!?"

"QUOI?!"

"PYO!?"

Francis smiled genuinely now.

"I 'ave to go to court today... because I am divorcing Arthur"

Mattie smiled and tackle-hugged Francis again. Francis caught him and laughed in joy. He looked at the awesome kid in his arms and he was smiling so much it looked like his face was glowing.

"And, I will 'ave full custody of Matheiu. On top of that, I am moving into the 'ouse just a few 'ouses from 'ere. I was planning this for a while, but I didn't know where mon ange would go until the preparations were complete... and oui, 'e can stay 'ere"

This time Birdie attacked me in happiness. We rolled around on the bed, laughing at the utter awesomeness! Francis was finally getting away from Catterpillar face, and Mattie could stay here! Bruder came down to tell us to wake up, but when he saw us he just asked what was going on. Francis told him, and he hi-fived the french guy. Our celebrating was cut short by the fact that we had to go to school. I had a quick shower and we got dressed (with Francis out of the room, of course) and all four of us met at the door. All of us had a group hug, even Luddy. Which was scary. More so than him being in the same room as Lovino and them not ripping each other to shreds... Anyways, once we had given Francis a shirt to wear and he was on his way, Birdie kissed me goodbye.

"I-ich liebe d-dich, Gil"

"je t'aime, Birdie... be safe, ja?"

"Of course... a-and you probably shouldn't act so happy... they might get suspicious"

"Eh... I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, kesese!"

Birdie hugged me one last time and went out the door. I watched him from the window while trying to control the smile on my face. Which I awesomely managed to do. Bruder grabbed me and dragged me to school again. Birdie was just walking into breakfast club when we got there. Eliza-demon was standing there, smirking. She came over and slapped me, then probably started bitching at me. But, my mind was elsewhere, awesomely. It was thinking of how awesome the picture would look on the wall!

When I did stop zoning out, they were talking about how they must have 'broken' me. To the point that Demon Whore was not very effective. So, Lovino just beat me up and I think Elizavleck did to. Once they had walked away, I waited for a minute before I got up. I was a little sore, but whatever. I was in an awesome mood!

Once I got in the door, Birdie tackle-hugged me. His eyes were shining and were really light... I guess me was in an awesome mood too! Joanne looked at us with a smile and put her hands on her hips.

"Okay... what happened?"

"P-papa is divorcing Arthur!"

"And Birdie still gets to awesomely live with me!"

"A-and Gil is going to do a painting of a poem I did!"

"And... we're awesome!"

Joanne rolled her eyes and smiled. She brought out a huge stack of waffles for us to share, which we ate hungrily. She sat opposite of us and when we had eaten down the waffles so we could see her face, she smiled at us.

"So, it seems like a lot of stuff has happened since Friday, huh?"

"Ja! Birdie's dad came to stay with us for a bit and Arthur kinda beat him up really bad so we took awesome care of him!"

Me and Birdie took turns explaining everything that happened on the weekend. Joanne was laughing pretty hard at my impression of Luddy trying to dance. Birdie immitated Lovino (minus the swearing) and Joanne laughed at that too. She looked at the clock behind her and frowned slightly.

"Well guys, as much as I would love to hear more about your adventures over the weekend, you have school, oui? So skedaddle!"

Birdie and me huffed jokingly and grabbed each other's hand. We walked into school like that, and we ran because the bell had already rung. I wanted the first two periods to blow up or something. I couldn't wait to show Ms Braginskaya what I was going to do with the wall!


	23. Chapter 23

Science flew by and math sucked as always. We were doing algebra, the awesome me's least favourite thing. It was fine until numbers and letters decided to try and trick my awesome mind, and the we added the pluses and minuses which still screws me over! Bruder says it's because I don't do my homework, but that can't be it. My brain is just too awesome for this number-y letter-y stupid shit! Besides, how would Luddy know? He's unawesome! Anyways, partway through that unawesome class a voice came on the microphone-thingiey.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt, to the office please"

While I was walking there I heard the same voice on the microphone thingiey.

"Matthew Williams please come to the office"

It didn't say we weren't in trouble so I was kind of freaking. Birdie wasn't going to be there because his last name was Bonnefoy-Kirkland, not Williams. Though that is a pretty awesome name. Matthew Williams. It has a nice ring to it, huh? Anyways, when I got to the office, I saw Bi- WHAT THE SHIT WAS THIS SORCERY!?

"Birdie!?"

Mattie turned in his seat and looked at me with a sad smile. I walked over and kneeled in front of him, looking up into the dark violet eyes.

"Birdie, any idea why we got called down to the office?"

"N-nope..." Birdie voice dropped down so low only the awesome me would be able to hear it. Even though the office was dead silent. "I-I'm kind of scared to find out..."

The office was essentially windowless, which in this situation had it's advantages and disadvantages. No one would see us hug or even talk to each other, but we wouldn't be able to see if anyone was coming. I got up and walked to the door, opening it and quickly watching for anyone heading in our direction. Once I was awesomely satisfied that there would be no interruptions, I kneeled back down in front of Birdie, positioning myself so that Mattie only had to lean down a few millimetres for our lips to touch.

Birdie cupped my cheek in his hand and smiled a little brighter this time. Both our pulses were racing; this was our first kiss at school! Finally the awesome me couldn't take it anymore and I stretched my neck a little to kiss him. He responded immediately by kissing back and burying a hand in my hair. One arm was wrapped around his shoulder while the other hand was resting gently on the side of his neck. I made sure the touch was really light so he wouldn't get nervous or anything.

Right in the middle of the awesome kiss we were interrupted by someone coming from the actual office and not the lobby door. It was Mr V and Mr Oxtenstierna, the guidance councillors. Birdie quickly pulled back and buried his face in my shoulder. His face was burning hot so it was safe to assume he was embarassed. I stroked his hair (It's not an obsession, okay?! It's just reeeally soft... like a puppy) and pulled him out of his chair to be on the floor with me. I wrapped my free arm around him tightly, making sure he knew he was safe with the awesome me. I looked at the guys now standing about three feet from us. Mr V had a smile that looked slightly appologetic.

"Hello there! We're sorry for interrupting you, but we wanted to talk to you guys about your relationship"

I immediately clutched Birdie closer and glared. Birdie was _mine_ and there was nothing anyone could say or do to change that. I felt Birdie hold me tighter too, and his face got slightly hotter... but not out of embarassment. Mr V raised his hands and smiled nervously.

"We're not trying to break you guys up, please do not worry! If anything, we're cheering for you guys as hard as Ms Braginskaya is"

Both me and Birdie visibly relaxed. We stood up and followed the guidance councillors into their office, which was actually quite nice. There were two chairs and a couch. I immediately plopped down on the couch. Birdie sat on my lap the same way he did yesterday. Mr V looked at us and frowned slightly.

"Would you like to lay down? There's room enough for both of you"

I looked at Birdie. He smiled and nodded. He stood up and I layed on my side, making sure to give Birdie lots of room. Mattie layed down beside me so his back was to my chest. I wrapped an arm around him and felt him lace his fingers through mine. I smiled and pressed my cheek to the top of his head. I looked back and Mr V was resting his head on his husband's arm, smiling happily.

"You guys are really in love, huh? I guess that would explain the glare Matthew gave me"

Mattie glared? Huh... I though about it and I guess the glare would be pretty scary, yet it was awesome at the same time. I chuckled and rubbed the palm of Birdie's hand with my thumb.

"So, n'w w're g'nna ask y' a f'w qu'stions"

"If that's okay, of course! We don't want you to feel uncomfortable"

I knew Mattie was smiling as he answered.

"N-non, it's fine... people have asked us questions before. A-and I'm sorry for glaring... b-but there is nothing that will keep me from Gil"

I smiled as Mattie turned on his back. I shifted down on the couch so I could lay my head on his collarbone and shoulder. Birdie wrapped both arms around me and kissed the top of my head. I closed my eyes and just felt Birdie breathing for a little while.

"G-Gil?"

"Mm?"

"You didn't hear that question, d-did you?"

"Oh... the awesome me did, but could you repeat it?"

"Y-you didn't hear it"

I cracked open a ruby eye to see Mr Oxtenstierna slightly smiling. Now, there was a rumour around school that he didn't know how to smile, and that was why Mr V always smiled. But then I realised something! Mr V actually frowned a little! And Mr Oxtenstierna actually smiled a bit! ... Me and Birdie were so awesome!

"I sa'd, wh't pr'bl'ms h've y' c'me acr'ss?"

"Birdie's unawesome family and my unawesome bullying situation"

"Oh? Are Matthew's parents homophobic?"

"N-no, I-I have two dads, a-and my brother's going out with I-Ivan, so there's no way they're homophobic... i-its just that..."

I looked up at Birdie and saw that he was silently pleading for me to explain instead. I shifted back up so he could bury his face wherever and maybe cry.

"Birdie's english dad beat him and cut him and... Birdie is it okay if I-"

"Oui"

"He dumped a pot of boiling water on Birdie's back"

I growled out that last part. Birdie shifted closer and I could tell he was close to tears. I slid my hand under his sweater and rubbed his back, hoping to get him to calm down. I looked up and saw the Mr V had to be held back. Birdie was looking also and smiled softly. Once Mr V had calmed down, Mr Oxtenstierna held him in his lap. The smaller (much smaller) male took a few deep breaths and gave a half-smile.

"Sorry about that, guys! It's just my paternal instincts kicking in..."

"I-It's fine... It's nice to know th-that people care"

I kissed Birdie's neck and nuzzled the spot. Then something hit me- how had they known we were dating in the first place!?

"Mr V?"

"You can call me Tino if you want, Gilbert"

"ja, Tino... how did you know about our relationship?"

Tino sighed and frowned.

"Well... Ms Braginskaya told us. But you have to understand, she didn't want to... but she did for both of your protection. Gilbert, all the other teachers know is that you are seeing someone who goes to this school and that it is to be kept a secret from every student. She told me and Berwald specifically because she figured, with us being guidance councillors and stuff that we could see if you guys need any help, or have any questions and make sure you're solid in the relationship"

"Um... c-can we just stay here until lunch?"

"Sure! Oh, and Ms Braginskaya said for Matthew to go to her art room right at the bell, and for Gilbert to go in ten minutes after... the protection thing again. So, Gilbert... how have things been with 'them'?"

"Honestly some fucked up shit's happened lately..."

I told them everything that happened, including the parts about Francis, because come on. The guy's awesome! Not as much as his son, of course. But still higher than most people! Tino and Berwald listened intently on everything the awesome me said, stopping me at the part where I got unawesomely beaten reeeeally badly.

"So they saw you with Matthew, then... beat you up really bad?"

"Well... I-I guess they saw me with him before s-school when we w-were walking back f-from Breakfast Club. I-I left the school first and I hid in the forest. I had to watch them beat the maple out o-of Gil..."

"Did they find you, then?"

"N-no... to our knowledge th-the leader still has no idea who I am, a-and neither does his girlfriend"

I growled at that statement. Me and Birdie took turns telling everything that happened from then on. Even Mr Oxtenstierna was shocked to find out that Lovino was Mattie's best friend. They went aww at all the parts that were awesomely loving. As soon as we were done, the bell rang. Me and Birdie sighed and sat up. Birdie kissed me and grabbed his backpack. He headed out the door, throwing a smile behind him and I flopped back on the couch, feeling pretty empty without Birdie in my arms. Tino coughed and got my attention.

"Gilbert, I notice that you and Matthew spend most of your time touching each other in a non-sexual way... is there a psychological factor to that?"

"The only place Birdie feels safe is my arms... and honestly the same is true for the awesome me... the only place I can actually relax is in his arms"

"Ah... and I guess that would stem from the first time you protected Matthew from his dad, right?"

"Yeap... and I guess for me it would come from how he awesomely helped me walk back to the house after I got beat"

"He cuddled with you during that?"

"Nein... well, sort of. It was more the way that I actually felt safe when he was holding me up and patching me up... and I guess we'd been cuddling even before we started going out"

"I h've an'th'r qu'stion. Y' act'lly l've h'm, right?"

I sat up and glared hard at the slightly scary man.

"Of course I actually love him! He's the most awesome, adorable, caring person I've ever met and I know he's right for the awesome me! he's had too much shit in his life for the awesome me to be completely unawesome and pretend to love him That's just cruel!"

That was a stupid question. Really stupid. As in, Feli stupid. But, Tino and Berwald smiled.

"You know, we ask that question to a lot of couples... some of them are yes, some of them are just dating out of sympathy, some are just... not very nice and the answer's no. But, not many will immediately jump to their lover's defence like you did"

"Birdie is awesome and he belongs with me. Nothing will ever change that"

Berwald nodded and his face went back to normal. Which was as neutral as Switzerland.

"Th'n I b'liev' y'... n'thing will t'ke e'th'r of y' aw'y fr'm e'ch 'th'r"

Translation, 'Then I believe you.. nothing will keep you from each other'. Which was entirely true. I would fight a fucking dragon if the prize was Birdie! Tino checked his watch and smiled.

"Gilbert, it is time for you to go... have fun, and thank you for letting us into your relationship!"

"You're wecome, I guess... and you promise you won't tell anyone what me and Birdie awesomely said here?"

"What did we say here? I forget..."

"M' too"

I smirked and grabbed my back pack. I walked slowly to the art room, because people still needed to think I was depressed and sad. When I walked in I quickly shut the door and hugged Birdie from behind. He squeaked a little and quickly turned around. We hugged for probably five minutes straight before ms Braginskaya coughed and got our awesome attention.

"So, Matvey told me you have something to show me, da?"

"Oh, ja! It's a new project I'm gonna awesomely do on the other wall!"

Birdie let go of me and I dug through my backpack for a bit before finally finding the concept sketch. I showed it to the teacher and her eyes immediately brightened. A smile spread across her face, and I knew that smile. It meant she could actually see what the finished product would look like on the wall, which also meant it was a good idea! She handed the picture back to me and looked at Mattie.

"And he did this from your poetry?"

"O-oui... it's really amazing, i-isn't it?"

"Da, I would say so! You really want to do this, Gilbert?"

"Ja!"

"And how will you get the paint?"

"Birdie's dad gave us extra money for taking care of Birdie, so we'll go out... tomorrow and get the paint. I still have the brushes from last time"

Ms Braginskaya nodded and went to her desk to do marking. While she was doing that, Birdie tried to teach me how to do poetry. Which didn't turn out so awesome, but only because the awesome me is a visual- oriented type artistic person of awesomeness. But it was awesome that Birdie tried! Maybe I could get him to help me with the painting... hm.

(I kinda ragequitted on this chapter after I didn't like the original way it was going to go... eheh. Oh, and blame Pewdiepie again for the lateness of this chapter)


	24. Chapter 24

The awesome me had a bad feeling in history. I didn't know if that was because something was going to happen or I forgot to do homework or something, but whatever it was it made my stomache turn. Un. Awesome. When the bell went and everyone was out of the classroom, I hugged Birdie close.

"Birdie... you go first, okay? That way if anything unawesome happens the awesome me can save you"

"Y-you have a bad feeling too? Hm... w-well, if something h-happens we'll definitely know, oui? Je t'aime, Gil. See you at home"

Birdie gave me a warm smile and walked out the door and out the school. I said goodbye to Mr Zwingli and walked back to the art room, since I had nothing better to do. It had started to snow and Ms Braginskaya was looking out the window at it. I walked up behind her and she sighed.

"Privet, Gilbert. You sent Matvey first?"

"Ja... it's safer that way. You look unawesomely upset, Ms Braginskaya"

"Well... it seems petty, but... I kind of miss home..."

"Where's that?"

"Russia... I miss the quiet peacefulness... but, I had to move out of the country. So, I decided to start over here, because there's snow here too... looking at it makes me just a little sad when it's the first fall"

I put my arm around Ms Braginskaya's shoulders. She smiled a little and kept looking at the snow fall.

"You know, they say that home is where you feel safest... is that Russia for you?"

"Da... hard as it is to believe. Especially in the neighborhood I lived in... what with all the gang- ...you can keep a secret, da?"

"Of course! I am awesome after all"

"I moved here because the mafia killed my best friend... and they were going to come after me too. I had to leave. And where is your home, Gilbert?"

"With Birdie... he's the one place I actually feel needed and loved... and it's the one place where I feel like nothing bad's going to happen"

Ms Braginskaya smiled and straightened up. I took a few steps back to avoid her bazingas as she turned to me.

"Speaking of Matvey, you should probably go home now, da?"

"Ja... you're going to be okay here?"

"Of course... I do have a wife to get home too"

"You're married?"

"For... twenty years tomorrow, actually"

"Oh... congratulations! Tell your wife I say you both are awesome and Mattie says bonjour!"

With that I left out the awesome door. But the bad feeling I had intensified for some reason, so I walked twice as fast home. I got in the door and... didn't see Birdie. He must have gone down the stairs to he basement or something. Luddy came down the stairs and had a really confused face on.

"Where's Mat?"

...Birdie wasn't home...

"I don't know... SHITSHITSHIT! Bruder did you and your band of fucktards see him?!"

"Lovino stopped for some reason halfway through the walk to here... but let's not get hasty, bruder. Wait for half an hour, then we'll call Lovino and of he's not there we go looking for Mat, ja?"

It sucked major unawesome balls, but it was the only way bruder would actually help me. I had a feeling Birdie was in the forest somewhere, but I hoped I was wrong. Because the forest that was behind the house stretched out for miles; it was basically the city... town limits. Birdie could get seriously lost in half an hour, or more likely fourty-five minutes... we still had to call Lovino and get some shit together because the snow had started to come down a little heavier. The temperature had also dropped, and Mattie was only wearing a thin sweater. I hoped he was okay...

I sighed and walked to the couch. I pulled out my sketchbook and a pencil. I ended up drawing a silhouette of a man, lit up by the streetlight he was under and the lightning in the background. It was raining, and it looked like the man had a suitcase or something. He was in a trench coat, looking pretty scary. I guess that reflected my own feelings, because I was fucking scared for Birdie. What if something unawesome happened to him? I would never, ever forgive myself if anything happened... I should have gone first. When I was done the drawing, I looked up. It had been an hour.

And still no Birdie.

"Bruder, we need to call Lovino now!"

"Ja, hang on a minute"

"LUDWIG I CAN'T HANG ON A MINUTE! BIRDIE IS LOST SOMEWHERE OUT THERE AND I'M NOT WITH HIM! THIS IS WORSE THAN THAT TIME FELI ALMOST GOT LURED INTO A HOUSE WITH THAT WEIRD CHICK WITH A MOUSTACHE!"

"And how is that possible?"

"BECAUSE FELI HAS A BUTTERLFY KNIFE WITH HIM AND HE'S GOT MAFIA CONNECTIONS! BIRDIE HAS NOTHING! LET'S FACE IT BRUDER, THE GUY'S FUCKING ADORABLE, WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO RAPE HIM OR SOMETHING!?"

Bruder just rolled his eyes, the asshat. Couldn't he see that I was seriously freaking out here!? He finally got Lovino on the line and I attempted to calm down. He handed the phone to me and I put it on speaker.

"What the fuck do you want, potato bastards?"

"it's Gilbert... and Birdie hasn't come home yet... did you see him after school?"

"Si, Roderich and Elizaveta were coming and I didn't want them to see Matteo so I pointed at the forest. His face went blank and he fucking booked it in there... and he hasn't... come back yet?"

"Nein..."

"TOMATO BASTARD I'M GOING OUT!"

"Lovi~ Let me come with you!"

"NO! YOU KNOW WHAT, FINE! MATTEO IS MISSING, AND IT'LL BE EASIER TO FIND HIM EVEN WITH YOUR STUPID HEAD IN THE MIX! Gilbert, we'll be over there in five minutes"

With that Lovino hung up. I dumped my backpack on the floor and grabbed five water bottles, some lunch meat from the fridge, Mattie's blanket and stuffed it all in there. Bruder also put a hot water heater thing, the kind you put on you when you need to get warm. The things that look like whoopie cushions? Anyways, bruder ran to the junk drawer and pulled out four walkie talkies. He made sure they worked and handed one to me. I clipped it on my belt loop. Bruder grabbed four of the flashlights that the police use (don't ask me how he got them...) and gave one to me also. Bruder stuffed some bread in the backpack and we waited outside for the Italian and Spaniard to arrive. They came running over to us five minutes late, and the excuse was that Antonio tripped and fell and 'is just like stupid fratello like that'.

"Okay bastardos, what's the plan?"

"We go into the forest in different areas and stay in groups of two. We will find Birdie, if it takes all night!"

Everyone nodded and we split into our groups. Lovino went with me, because he needed a break from Antonio. We ran into the forest and kept running until we were out of breath.

"BIRDIE!"

"MAPLE BASTARD!"

We kept shouting our various names for mein liebe. The search literally lasted for three hours. I could barely see because tears were welling up in my eyes... I didn't want to lose Birdie, not like this! This was the most unawesome way possible... I wouldn't get to say goodbye or one last 'I love you' or anything! the thought alone made me want to cry, but thinking that that might be the reality... it was just too much. The search was going onto hour four when I finally decided to call out the one thing I might not get to say to my awesome liebe.

"BIRDIE, I LOVE YOU!"

"Love you too..."

It was just a faint whisper on the wind, and I wasn't even sure I heard it. But nonetheless, I sprinted in the direction that I heard it from. As soon as I caught sight of a red sweater I dumped my bag at the edge of the clearing and ran faster than I thought possible to Birdie. He was sitting on a log, trying to keep warm though he was shivering really bad. I slid to my knees in front of him and looked into his almost black eyes. I hugged him close, but felt him weakly wrap his arms around me. I was crying really hard, sobbing into his sweater. I could feel his tears on my thin sweater also. I pulled back and wiped my tears. I smiled and hugged him again.

"Birdie... Birdie we found you! Thank gott you're okay... I-I thought I'd lost you..."

"Y-y-you w-o-ont lose m-me th-that easi-il-ly"

I grabbed my walkie talkie and pressed the talk button.

"BRUDER WE FOUND HIM!"

"Ja, I know... I'm about three feet behind you"

I didn't care that bruder was three feet behind me. All I cared about was the fact that Birdie was in my arms and he was safe. I took off my sweater, leaving just a shirt and put the sweater on him. I also grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around Mattie, then picked him up bridal-style.

"Birdie, whatever you do don't fall asleep... or you won't wake up"

He was shivering so bad he couldn't answer. We walked back out of the forest, me and Birdie going first and everyone else behind us. Luddy picked up my bag and carried it home. Birdie had been out a lot farther than I would have thought. It took us another almost four hours to finally get out of the forest. Night had fallen quite a long time ago, so everyone behind me and Birdie had to shine their flashlights in front of us so I could see. Once we were finally back home, Lovino and Antonio took off their stuff and fell asleep on the couch. I carried Birdie downstairs and set him on the bed. He looked a little warmer, if his smile was anything to go by.

"Gil... th-thank you for finding me... I-I didn't know which way to go after I ran in there b-because I ran in too far... my b-backpack is still in there"

"Birdie, we'll look for it tomorrow... anything you awesomely need?"

"C-can I have a bath?"

"As long as you don't mind the awesome me being in the bathroom with you... I promise I won't look at little Mattie"

Birdie chuckled and sat up. He unwrapped the blanket and took off both his sweaters, revealing a bare chest. he hadn't worn anything under that sweater!? How the fuck didn't he freeze to death!? He is one strong motherfucker...

We walked to the bathroom and I started the bath for Birdie. I figured bubbles were an awesome idea so I made him a bubble bath. I shut off the water, shut the door and averted my eyes as Birdie got undressed. He stepped in the water and sat down, sighing happily. I sat against the door and looked at him. Birdie looked at me with a light smile, his eyes slowly regaining colour.

"You know Birdie, even before we called Lovino I had a feeling you were in the forest"

"Hm... I-I guess we're really in sync then... because I-I knew when y-you realised that I was gone... i-it was about four o'clock, oui?"

"Ja"

I couldn't help it. I got up on my knees beside the tub and stroked Birdie's cheek. He pulled me in for an awesome kiss and I felt us both relax into it. Bruder came down the stairs and opened the door to the bathroom, but quickly closed it again. I didn't know what his problem was, Mattie was all covered! I think...

Birdie was done with his bath about twenty minutes later. He drained the water, dried off and wrapped a towel around his waist. It was three AM when we finally got to bed... and there was no way we were going to school tomorrow. I didn't care what bruder said, Birdie needed a day off! And the awesome me would take care of him all day.


	25. Chapter 25

I woke up the next morning to sad-looking purple eyes and a small cough. Birdie was definitely sick... and the awesome me would take care of him all day. Because the best cure for a cold is awesomeness! I stroked Birdie's cheek and kissed him on the lips. He kissed back, but after the kiss was over he frowned.

"Y-you're not supposed to do that t-to a sick person..."

"Why? Because you think I'll unawesomely catch a cold? Birdie, the awesome me is too awesome to get sick!"

"Th-then what about me?"

"You're so awesome that a cold wanted to be as awesome as you so it infected you!"

I guess Birdie was suffering from a little insecurity, now that he was sick. I didn't care. I wouldn't care if he was throwing up, I'd still cuddle and kiss him!... Is that unawesomely weird? Meh... the awesome me doesn't care, Birdie is too awesome for me _not_ to do that stuff with him! Luddy came walking down the stairs and rolled his eyes.

"Bruder... can Mat go to school?"

"Nein, he's sick. And the awesome me is staying home with him!"

"Good, because I already called in sick for the both of you. Mat, get some rest and Gilbert, don't trash the house"

"Bruder I only do that when there's something unawesomely wrong in the house, like if you stop watching porn or something! This awesome place can only take so many hits of unawesomeness!"

Luddy rolled his eyes again and walked back up the stairs. I looked at Birdie with a smirk.

"The awesome me will be your doctor for today! So, you need anything?"

"U-um... c-could I have a roll of toilet paper?'

"For your awesome nose?"

"Oui..."

For the record, Birdie was whispering. Reeeeally quietly. It was awesome that I could hear him at all! I got up and get the roll for him. When I came back, he was curled into a ball and looked like he was sleeping. I silently (or as close as I could get to it) tip-toed up the stairs and got him a huge glass of water. He needed to stay hydrated, and a big glass of awesomeness should do the trick! Bruder waved goodbye and walked out the door. Lovino shot me a look and Antonio waved before they walked out too.

I went back downstairs to find birdie still snoozing, but he'd wrapped the blanket around himself like a cocoon. I set the water beside his glasses on the nightstand and crawled on the rather large bed, trying to figure out how I was going to do this. I somehow slipped the blanket out from under Mattie and curled around him. We were like two awesome cats! Except for we didn't have the tails or the ears... though that would look adorable on Birdie... eh.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed right up against him. My head was resting on the top of his. It was about eleven in the morning when I felt his muscles flex like he was stretching. Birdie Laced his fingers through mine and somehow managed to turn on his back. He smiled up and me and kissed me on the cheek.

"M-merci for s-staying"

"No problem at all, Birdie... the awesome me loves you"

"I-I love you too"

Its honestly awesome how much emotion can be poured into those three or four words. Because hearing him say that, even in a barely hearable whisper felt as good as when we'd spent our first night together as a couple. Birdie probably didn't want me to kiss him on the lips again, so I hugged him and kissed his forehead.

"You hungry, liebe?"

"A-a little..."

"Can the awesome you walk or are you feeling even unawesomer than you look like you feel?"

"I-I can walk up the stairs... a-and flop on the couch"

Only Birdie could have understood what I said, because even I didn't! And it came out of my awesome mouth! Anyways, Mattie grabbed the water, blanket and his glasses while I carried up the toilet paper and made sure Birdie didn't unawesomely fall. His balance was really off. Once we were at the top of the stairs he just kind of flopped on the couch (after setting the water down) and curled up in a ball. I kneeled down in front of the couch and looked him in the eye. His purple irises were pretty dark... I guess he really didn't like being sick. Then again, who did? I stroked Birdie's cheek and smiled softly. I figured I should be really gentle because Birdie was feeling really unawesome.

"Anything you need, liebe?"

"Med-dicine... pill?"

I kissed his cheek and got up. I walked to the cabinet that had all our dishes and silverware and shit like that and pulled out some Buckley's pills. I didn't know if Birdie would be able to stay awake after one, but I figured he needed to get better so I got two for him. I started on some mashed potatoes because I figured that would be easy to eat. I walked back in with the pills in my hand and gave them to Birdie, then looked down. I was still in the jeans from yesterday. Birdie was smiling softly at me, though I could tell that took a lot of effort.

"G-go change, if you want... I-I'll just be... probably napping..."

I kissed Birdie on the lips quickly so he couldn't complain that I was going to get unawesomely sick and went downstairs. I didn't have any clean pj pants left, so I just grabbed a pair of boxers and put those on. I also gathered up me and Birdie's laundry and put it in the washing machine because otherwise we would have to wear dirty clothes... and that's not awesome.

When I came back up the stairs in my awesome Scooby Doo boxers Birdie was still on the couch. He was also still awake, so I climbed on top of him and rested my head on his shoulder. Birdie threaded his hand through my hair and started rubbing my scalp. I sat up and pulled the blanket out from under me and threw it on me so Birdie could have double the ammount of awesome warmth! I wrapped my arms around him and used his shoulder as a pillow again. He wrapped his arms around my back and sighed in happiness.

"Gil... y-you know you didn't have to stay home w-with me, right?"

I smirked. Of course I had to stay home with Birdie! He was awesome and I had to take care of him. Besides, he took awesome care of me when I had to be off of school, so it was time for me to awesomely return the favour! I lifted my head up and kissed him on the lips. He was a little surprised, but eh. He closed his eyes and kissed back, arching up slightly so he could feel all of the awesome me. When we pulled away we were both gasping and smiling. Birdie hugged me and snuggled into my collarbone. He pulled his head back to show me his smile as he spoke.

"Y-you're possibly the only person in the world who would still do this with a sick a-amour"

"That's because the rest of the world doesn't love their boyfriend like I awesomely do"

I winked and got a pleased blush from Birdie. We snuggled and kissed until the potatoes were done. Frowning slightly, I got off birdie and went to the kitchen. I drained the water from the potatoes, grabbed the masher thing and beat the shit out of them until they were mashed. I dumped them back in the pot and grabbed two spoons. I would have to do the dishes from this awesome cooking anyways (not) so why not make it easy on the awesome me?

Birdie sat up as soon as he saw me walk in with the pot. I sat beside him and pulled Birdie into my lap so we could eat while still making sure Birdie was warm. I fed Birdie his first spoonful and he let out a moan of awesomeness at the taste... he's very lucky that didn't go south. Though I have to admit, I do make pretty damned good potatoes.

After we had eaten the whole pot, We set it on the ground and snuggled on the couch a little more. Birdie had to stop to blow his nose a lot, but that was okay. I didn't think he'd let me cuddle him at all! After about an hour of that the awesome me grinned. A marathon of Storage Wars was on! It's not as unawesome as it sounds, trust me. They find some pretty cool shit in the storage lockers! I turned us so that the awesome me was squished between Mattie's back and the couch. I wrapped an arm around Birdie and he held that hand.

"G-Gil... d-do you think Elizaveta and jerkass a-are going to get suspicious?"

"Why would they get suspicious?"

"W-well, because Elizaveta didn't affect you at all yesterday... a-and you're randomly gone today, and you got called down to the o-office yesterday..."

"Ah..."

I could see where he was coming from. From... their perspective, I guess that would seem pretty unaweswomely weird.

"I guess that would be unawesome from their point of unawesome view, but Luddy and Lovino will lye to save you... heh, bruder hasn't been a giant dick as much as usual... I think you awesomely tamed him!"

"N-non, we awesomely tamed him... w-we did show him how to love, after all... w-which I think is stupid. Shouldn't he a-already know how to do that?"

"Neh, his childhood was rough like mine... he got unawesomely picked on at school, then just snapped one day and beat the shit out of somebody... since then he works out when he goes upstairs so he can stay in shape in case anyone else wants to mess with him"

"Aah... y-you know, it's interesting how everyone handles pain differently. Y-you, for instance, somehow have a-a lot of love to share, a-and I have no idea where that came from"

"Birdie, I just have a lot of love for you.. and I guess it comes from the fact that... you've been absoluely awesome, so I want to make you feel awesome. Being able to be with you and tell you how much ich liebe dich makes it even more awesome!"

Birdie pressed his back against me. It was supposed to be a hug of sorts, since he really couldn't do that in our current position. We must have fallen asleep because when we woke up, bruder was standing over us.

"Gilert and Mat, I have some bad news... Roderich is beginning to catch onto you... "

Aaaaand guess who's worst nightmare might come true? That's right, the awesome and freaking out me.

"What do we do? We can't make Birdie go, there's no other place for him to go!"

"Ja, so he'll live in the attic... you won't see each other very much, I'm afraid"

Birdie could probably feel the intense temperature change, which would explain why he turned around with a confused face. I was pissed. Pissed at Roderick for almost finding out, pissed at myself for not covering our tracks better, and pissed and the stupid people who decided to have a baby that turned out to be a demon-spawn, sent to earth to torture me. I held Birdie roughly to my chest, but was a little more gentle once he was there. He was still sick, after all. Birdie sighed, knowing that I wouldn't be able to communicate without swearing my fucking head off. See? I'm even doing it in my own thoughts.

"W-when do I have to move upstairs?"

"As soon as possible... I don't know what Roderich will come to check on you. Oh, and bring the bird with you, please"

Well, this was just unawesome. I would not be in a good mood for the next indefinite period of time... motherfucker.

(I'm sorry this chapter sucks... my dog just got put down, so I'm a bit of an emotional wreck... and happy early thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it!)


	26. Chapter 26

Once bruder was out of the room I sighed and looked down at Birdie. He was frowning and I could tell he thought it was his fault. I stroked his cheek and kissed him on the lips again.

"Birdie, don't be hard on yourself. This is the awesome me's fault for not making more sure that they wouldn't find out, okay?"

"B-but if I'd never come to live with y-"

"Birdie. If you had never come to live with the awesome me, I would always regret not bringing you into the house anyways. I would also be still feeling unawesome about everything. And I would be alone. You would be alone too, most likely. I don't unawesomely regret bringing you here because it was the awesome thing to do... we'll get everything sorted out, ja? And the awesome me will come upstairs every single minute I can..."

Ja, I was going to cry. I didn't want mein awesome liebe to be away from me! That would just suck! Birdie was already in tears, and that was probably not helping his cold at all. I hugged him close, not caring that Ludwig had walked back in the room and was staring at us. When I looked up I saw that he... had a sad look on his face as well... what was this!?

"Gilbert... you know I don't want to do this, ja?"

"Ja... "

"And... I will make sure that you guys get at least two hours together a day. But you're going to have to sleep in separate beds"

That was the thing that killed me. Birdie and me had never spent a night apart! What if Birdie had an unawesome nightmare, or somehow fell off the couch and got hurt? I wouldn't awesomely be there to help him! Birdie sighed and looked at me with eyes so dark they were black.

"I-I guess we should move me up there then, huh?"

"Ja... the awesome me will do it, because you're still sick"

"Gil... I-I can walk and move stuff around..."

I frowned and nodded. Both Birdie and I had the dead look in our eyes, which was not awesome at all. I wanted Birdie to be happy, or at least not sad... hell, I'd be pleased if he was neutral! But Birdie's eyes so dark, and mine probably almost white... unawesomeness in it's... second purest form. The first purest form was Roderich and his evil fuck-buddy, Demon whore. I didn't care that this wasn't Ludwig's fault. I glared at him so hard he actually looked scared. He backed out of the room, going to the basement to pack up Birdie's things. Mattie touched my cheek gently and I tried not to glare. Not that I would ever glare at him, but the look is kind of hard to suppress with all the unawesome shit that was happening.

"Amour... w-we'll still see each other, oui? I"ll b-be at breakfast club, and I'll leave after you guys t-to make it even safer"

I kissed Birdie. It was maaaaaybe a little awesomely rough, but Mattie didn't mind at all. I heard bruder come up and down the stairs. He was bringing boxes with him and dropping them off at the foot of the stairs that led to the top floor. Once Birdie and me were out of breath we stood up and took the boxes upstairs. Gilbird and his cage went up there also. Bruder pulled down the trap door and we brought all the stuff up there, along with all the candles from last time and the box of matches. I also brought up our blanket for him, so he'd have a little awesomeness when he slept. We sat down on the couch and I pulled Birdie into my lap. He looked up at me with these big, sad purple eyes. I could feel my awesome heart breaking... Ludwig would not ever be forgiven for this one.

"G-Gil... w-we are still dating, oui?"

"Ja... but I gotta make you understand"

Birdie smirked and immediately knew what I was doing.

"N-never gonna give you up"

"Never gonna let you down"

"Never gonna r-run around and desert you"

"Never gonna make you cry"

"Never g-gonna say goodbye"

"Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you"

"We've known each o-other for so long"

"Your heart's been aching, but you're to shy to say it!"

"Inside we both know what's been g-going on"

"We know the game and we're gonna play it!"

"A-and if you ask me how I'm feelin'"

"Don't tell me you're to blind to see"

We repeated the chorus and in the middle we both broke down laughing. It was just so random and awesomely funny! Birdie snuggled against me, his eyes a little lighter.

"W-what the heck was that?"

"Awesomeness, kesese!"

"O-oui, I would have to agree"

Birdie was still humming the song, which was pretty funny. I had a thought and started laughing again. Birdie was laughing too, probably because it was so damned contagious. He looked at me with an amused smile and inquisitive eyes.

"Kesesese, that could be our song!"

Birdie started laughing so hard he almost fell off me. He tried to pull himself together a few times, but only managed to calm down a little.

"Sadly enough, that w-would actually work!"

Did I mention that Birdie's laugh was really cute? Because it was. His face was so red from laughing he looked like... the invisible tomato from last time hit his face, kesesese! Once he was done with his fit, we snuggled on the couch. Somehow, through the power of random rickrolling, we had made ourselves feel better. Neither of us noticed it was dark until about ten at night, when we tried to look at each other. But it was too dark. Bruder came up the stairs to tell us it was time to go to bed. He lit a candle and put it on the table, not leaving until I was out of the attic. I rolled my eyes and cupped Birdie's face with both hands. We leaned in and kissed each other goodnight, both of us not wanting me to leave. But unawesomely, I had to. I slipped out from under Birdie and stroked his cheek.

"How's your unawesome cold?"

"I-I think it's better... must have been a twelve hour flu o-or something"

"Ah... Je t'aime, oiseau"

"Ich liebe dich auch, mein liebe"

I smiled and kissed Birdie on the forehead before leaving with bru- nope, can't say that. I left with _Ludwig_, blowing a kiss to Birdie before he was out of sight. Ludwig stopped me once we were out of the room.

"Did he just speak German?"

"Ja, we do that a lot"

"B-but he said it perfectly!"

"Ja, and? Bruder, he's awesome. There's nothing more to it!"

Ludwig rolled his eyes and walked the awesome me downstairs. I guess he didn't want me awesomely sneaking up to see Birdie. I walked to the basement in silence, frowning at the emptiness. I grabbed my diary and wrote in it... as I hadn't done for quite a while...

_Dear awesome Diary,_

_Wow... the awesome me has unawesomely not written in a looooong time. I am sorry about that, diary of awesomeness. Anyways, Birdie and I became awesome lovers! And, it turns out that in some weird coincedence, Lovino is Birdie's long-lost best friend. Ja. So, Francis came over all beat up on friday. He'd gotten beaten up by Catterpillar face (Birdie's unawesome dad) because Francis is finally getting away from the unawesome bastard! You know how several times I've said how bruder is incapable of loving Feli? Well me and Birdie taught him! And Lovino is dating this Spanish guy. So we had an awesome... couple + Francis night on Sunday, which was awesome. _

_Unfortunately, after that things got unawesome because I was in too awesome of a mood and Elizavet-whore didn't affect me when she tried to bring the awesome me down. So, they've gotten suspicious, and now Bruder said that me and Birdie have to sleep in separate beds. Mattie's gotta be in the attic while I have to stay down here. Bruder even said Gilbird has to be up there! I'm still really pissed at him for that... anyways, that's it for the diary entry of today. Au revoir, as Birdie would probably say!_

_Yours Awesomely, Gilbert Beilschmidt_

..Aaaaaaaaaaand now the awesome me was unawesomely bored. I figured I could start on doing the whisper lines on the wall for the awesome drawing. So, I did that. It was about one in the morning when I finished. I redid some parts and looked at my awesome work. It was pretty awesome, I was sure Birdie would love it! I went upstairs and gathered all the blankets that were still on the floor up. I carried them back on my bed and got under them. But I wasn't tired at all. It was... almost two and the awesome me was still awake. Damnit! I should have known I wouldn't be able to sleep without Birdie. Sighing and sitting up, I made a decision.

I was going up to see Birdie.

I crept up the stairs pretty quietly. Taking a deep breath, I walked silently up the second set of stairs and into Grandpa Beilschmidt's room, closing the door behind me. I stood on the bed and managed to get the trapdoor open and somehow got the stairs down. I climbed up them and pulled them up, shutting the trapdoor behind me. Birdie was still sleeping. I kneeled down in front of the couch and watched him.

The single candle on the table was the only light in the room. It illuminated Birdie's face just enough that I could see his peaceful expression. Though the awesome me saw something glistening near his eye. It was a tear, so I guess he'd been crying. I leaned in and kissed the tear away, pulling back just in time to watch Birdie's eyes flutter open. He looked at me with a slightly confused face, his purple eyes glistening. I guess he still had tears left over.

"Birdie... I couldn't sleep so I came up to see you"

Birdie smiled at me and blinked a few times to get the tears out of his eyes. I kissed away every one that fell on his nose or cheek.

"Why're you crying, Birdie?"

"B-because I missed sleeping with you... i-it's not the same"

"Ah... ja, I know. I need my awesome teddy bear with me"

I winked and Birdie blushed. I slid a hand under the blanket to rest on his side. He really looked... just gorgeous in candlelight. For our first date, the awesome me would have to incorporate that somewhere... hm. Birdie flipped on his back and turned his head to look at me with a smile. I slid my hand all the way up and around him to rest on his shoulderblade. I cupped Birdie's cheek with the other hand and leaned over him, studying his face for a moment. He was already holding me around my shoulders.

Then, I leaned in and kissed him again. This time, it was slow and sweet, like we had all the time in the world to do this. I knew Birdie was giving me every ounce of love he had for me. I pressed a little harder and gave back the same ammount... which is a lot. Yet again, I forgot everything but the fact Mattie was pressing against my lips, warming me up from my awesome head to my feet. Once the kiss was done I pulled back only a few inches and smiled.

"You always blow me away when we kiss, vogel"

"S-same... how do we kiss so... well?"

"I guess it just comes with being with your soul mate"

"Y-you think I'm the one?"

"Ja... I know you are. No one else can be right for me like you are"

Birdie smiled the most loving smile I've ever seen and pulled me back down for another kiss. I couldn't tell you how long we were doing that for, because there wasn't a clock up there. When we pulled back, Birdie yawned. I asked him to sit up, which he did. The look and smile he gave me told me he knew what I was going to do. I sat on the couch with my back to the armrest and slid down just a little. Birdie was between my legs and was soon resting on my chest. I pulled the blanket over us, wrapped my arms around Birdie and rested my cheek on the top of his head. I didn't care what Ludwig said in the morning. Birdie and me were right where we needed to be, and that was all that mattered.


	27. Chapter 27

When I woke up me and Birdie were in the exact same position. I blinked a few times and looked to my right, where bruder was sitting on the table. His elbows were resting on his knees and his chin was resting on his hands. Ludwig's icey blue eyes weren't as iceberg-y as normal, so for some reason he wasn't pissed at me. I would have thought he'd be blowing up at me, even with Birdie still asleep. Speaking of Mattie, I felt him move a little. He moved his head closer to my neck and I could feel his soft smile against my skin.

"Y-you stayed"

I kissed Birdie's head and smiled softly against the golden locks. Of course I'd stayed! There wasn't any reason why I would go. I was not afraid of mein bruder's wrath. He could beat me up a hundred times... nothing would stop me from seeing Birdie.

"Ja, vogel... I told you, I can't sleep without mein awesome teddy bear"

Mattie's cheeks got hot and he lifted his head up. He had slight bedhead and his violet eyes were hazy. That combined with the smile on his face made him look absolutely adorable. I had just enough time to wrap my arms around his shoulders before he kissed me, soft and sweet. I completely relaxed into the kiss and held Mattie around his shoulders and the small of his back. He had one hand in my hair and the other was drawing letters into my shoulderblade. When we broke apart Birdie went back to our original position.

"L-Ludwig's up here, isn't he"

"Ja, he is..."

Birdie shifted down my body a little to look at Ludwig. I stroked his back and felt him relax against me.

"I-I'm sorry, Ludwig, w-we just can't be apart for the night..."

"ja, I can see that. And bruder, I appologise for restricting you so much, but it's for safety..."

"Bruder, did you get thwacked over the head or something? You're being... nice. It's slightly scaring the awesome me"

"If you want I ca-"

"NEIN! Whatever you were about to say, nein. But what do we do now, because quite obviously you can't keep Birdie and me apart"

"Ja... hm. I would suggest you and Mat sleep up here from now on, but if Rod and Lovino have a surprise raid then Rod's going to wonder where you are and get more suspicious... your floor is freezing so there's no way Mat can sleep there..."

"U-um... this is a little bit of a weird idea, b-but would they ever check in your room?"

"Nein"

"Th-then... I could sleep there? N-not with you, of course... just, in the same room... your floor probably isn't as cold"

I looked at Birdie with big, pleading eyes. I didn't trust bruder with Birdie still! I didn't think I ever would, just because of all the 'stuff' he'd done with Feli... the awesome me didn't want that to happen to mein awesome Birdie unless I was the one doing it to him! Birdie looked at me with... neutral purple eyes, like he wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea. But... it was the only option. I looked at bruder and he was thinking it over. He looked like a statue while his mind processed what Birdie had said.

"Mat... that is a pretty good idea... but how will you and Gilbert still be together at night?"

"Bruder, as much as it kills me to say this, I think it's unawesomely the only option. But. If you touch Birdie, I will rip off your arms and feed them to you in a fucking soup"

"C-creative..."

"Fine. You and Mat will get until... 12 each night to do whatever, then I am coming to get Mat. Got it?"

"Ja, ja the awesome me has got it"

Birdie looked at me with a frown. This wasn't what either of us wanted... but it was the best option. Which sucked major, pulsating balls. I hugged Birdie close, not wanting to let him go for any reason whatsoever.

"Bruder, what time is it?"

"It's seven... just about time to wake up"

Birdie and I kissed one last time before getting up. He grabbed some clothes from his box and went downstairs to the basement with me to change. as soon as we got to our room (I refuse to call it 'my room') Birdie looked at the wall in a slight bit of joy.

"Y-you drew it... i-it looks amazing, I love it!"

Told ya. I hugged Birdie from behind while he looked at it. He threaded his fingers through mine, a lot like he had the first day I had to stay home. That was the day before I'd confessed to Birdie, I think. Wait... that was Wednesday of last week... and today was Wednesday... a huge grin spread across my face as I realised what that meant!

"Birdie, do you know what today awesomely is?"

"Wedne- o-oh! It's our one week anniversary!"

I spun Birdie around and kissed him with tongue. He practically melted in my arms. I had to hold him up or I was awesomely sure his knees would give out! But I didn't want to take it too far... we still had to get to hell disguised as school. When we pulled back Birdie was apparently a little dizzy... his head was spinning. Literally! He shook his head and smiled up at me.

"J-just like our first kiss"

I hugged Birdie for a couple seconds, then let go so we could get dressed. After that we walked up the stairs and went to the door where mein bruder was waiting. I sighed and held Birdie around the small of his back.

"Birdie, leave ten minutes after me and Ludwig get out the door, okay? That should awesomely give you enough time so Pukerich won't get more suspicious"

"O-okay... I love you Gil... it's been one heck of a week, hasn't it?"

"It has... mostly an awesome week, but yesterday and Monday were unawesome... I love you too Birdie... watch the awesome time, ja?"

"I-I will"

Birdie and me hugged, then bruder grabbed me by the hood of my sweater and dragged me out the door. When we got to school, Elizaveta wasn't there. She must have been off with that vietnamese she always hung with... thank awesomeness! Lovino had to compensate for the last few days, so the beating was a little (a lot) more painful than usual. After they left, I waited a few minutes before I got up. I wasn't able to see if Birdie had gotten to Breakfast Club or not, so my stomach was doing unawesome little flips. When I got in the door, Joanne looked at me with a very confused face.

"Where's Matthew?"

"He's coming... we just have to have an unawesome new system of going to school"

"Ah... where were you both yesterday?"

"Mattie was sick because he got lost in the forest for a lot of time"

"Ah..."

I heard someone coming behind me. But I didn't have any more time after that because Birdie jumped on my back, hanging off of me like a koala. Awesomely I didn't fall over, and somehow managed to turn him around to he was facing me. I sat down in a chair, and Birdie was sitting in my lap. I saw Joanne smile, then it looked like she was remembering something. She raced off into the back room. When she came back she had- SHE HAD FUCKING CAKE!

"Happy anniversary, guys! I figured I couldn't get you a card, so I got this instead"

Birdie turned around and his eyes lit up so bright you would have thought they would reflect off of something. I got a hug and a kiss on the neck before Birdie turned around.

"M-merci beaucoup! C'est trés beau..."

"De rién, guys... now dig in!"

She handed us forks an we practically inhaled that cake. We ended up getting icing all over each other's faces, because apparently trying to feed your liebling a big fork full of cake doesn't work. It was pretty funny though! Rolling her eyes, Joanne got us facecloths and we washed each other's faces off. Though I would have been fine with licking the icing off of Birdie...

We said goodbye and left, running into the school because we were late. The cake was just really, really awesome! More so now that it was in our awesome stomaches! We were doing some fucking stupid equation shit in math, and we had to balance equations in science... couldn't they just not teach us that? It was too fucking confusing... meh. I'd get Birdie to explain it later. He was smart, he probably knew what to do with them. To me, they were just the results of a bad marriage between Numbers and Letters. And the balancing thing... ugh. That was worse. And I was in college level! You know, the one for stupid and/ or lazy people? Stupid fucking school... I hope Ivan burns it down.

At lunch, I just went to the art room because I figured that if Birdie wasn't there, he'd get the message to come. Of course, Birdie was already in there, waiting for the awesome me. Ms Braginskaya was smiling at us, and there was a woman standing beside her looking pretty happy. I sat on the desk beside Mattie and pulled him into my lap, where he snuggled into my chest. Ms Braginskaya leaned over and gave the girl a kiss on the cheek... I guess this was her wife! Awesome!

"Guys, this is my wife, Meimei... she really wanted to see you guys, da?"

"B-bonjour, Meimei... i-it's nice to see you"

"You too, Matthew... and this is Gilbert you are sitting on, I imagine? Or did I get the names confused..."

I hugged Birdie close, sort of just out of habit. Meimei had a really soft, almost musical voice... I could see why Ms Braginskaya chose her.

"You got them right, awesomely! So, how much has Ms Braginskaya told you about us?"

I saw the Ukrainian teacher blush a little and looked sort of guilty. The two adults sat on the desks opposite of us, because standing was sort of awkward.

"Everything... but in my defence, she was curious!"

"G-Gil... I'm slipping off"

Birdie got off of my lap so I could sit more on the desks. I sat cross-legged and smiled at Birdie. He climbed back into my lap and I put my head back on his shoulder. I nuzzled his neck and played with his hair while keeping one arm wrapped securely around his waits. Mattie rubbed the back of that hand with his thumb as he spoke.

"S-so, Meimei... what exactly w-were you curious about? We'll answer anything, oui?"

"Ja"

The asian blushed and scooted a little closer to her wife. She looked pretty nervous, like she was meeting two celebrities or something! It was just me and Birdie, we were just two regula- well, we did have an unusual ammount of awesomeness, so we weren't normal. But... we were just two teens, so why was she so nervous?

"W-well, Katyusha told me all she knows about your relationship... including the things you're going through with the bullies and really how much danger there is for the both of you. I... kind of just wanted to say that, you are both really brave... Matthew, if you are caught with Gilbert I don't want to think of what they'll do to you. Gilbert... well, we already know what will happen... only it's going to be a lot worse. So... how do you... continue on when the stakes are so high?"

I kissed Birdie's neck and looked up at Meimei with a smile.

"Because our love is too awesome to quit just because there's danger... if anything, I awesomely think it makes us stronger than normal, because we've been through shit with each other"

Birdie turned around in my lap with a smile on his face. His light violet eyes were bursting with love, and I was sure mine were doing the same thing. Mattie wrapped his arms around my shoulders, while mine rested around the small of his back. He laid his head on my shoulder and got as close to me as was possible in that position. I buried my face in his wheat-coloured hair for a few seconds, enjoying the softness once more. I looked up and saw Ms Braginskaya hugging Meimei. Her... cerulean eyes met with mine and we smiled. The two on the other desks stopped hugging, only for Ms Braginskaya to pull her wife in her lap.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Gilbert, I know that today is yours and Matvey's one week anniversary, da?"

"Ja... Joanne at Breakfast club gave us cake, kesese!"

"...Oh dear. Neither of you are sugar high, da?"

"O-oui... we're fine"

"Ah. Good then, because I got you both something. Gilbert, I notice that your brother wears an iron cross, but you don't, da?"

"Ja... it was our vatti's, he wanted Luddy to have it... mutti had something for me too, but... the unawesome... it got stolen"

"Ah... well, I know there may not have as much emotional attachment to it, but look in the bag"

She pointed to a bag on the desk beside her and her wife. Curious, Birdie and I walked up to it and took out two boxes. We had somehow picked up each others. Smirking, I opened the box for Birdie and took out the cross that was there on a chain. Engraved on the back was 'Love'. Smiling, I fastened it around Birdie's neck and tucked it under his sweater. Birdie opened the one that was for me and looked at the engraving on the inside. It said 'Happiness'. He fastened it around my neck and tucked it under my sweater too. Somehow, I felt like I had a piece of Birdie hidden somewhere in it. Ms Braginskaya must have seen how... how awesomely happy Mattie makes me, and she must have also seen how much love I give Mattie... that's what the awesome engravings meant! Birdie's eyes were tearing slightly, and one rolled on his cheek. I wiped it and smiled down at him. He hugged me and we both smiled at Ms Braginskaya. She was resting her head on her wife's shoulder, smiling in delight at the awesomeness we felt from the gifts.

"M-ms Braginskaya... the gifts a-are amazing! Merci beaucoup"

"Ah, thank Meimei too... she was the one who suggested it"

"Danke Meimei... now it'll be a little easier when me and Birdie have to be apart"

She nodded and smiled, a few tears glistening at the corners of her eyes. Meimei must have telekinetic powers... nein, tele...telephonetic... the thing where you can read someone's mind! She wiped the tears from the Ukrainian's eyes and smiled.

"By the way, I also brought Meimei because I wanted to do a section in art about drawing from text... inspired by you guys"

I smirked and looked at Birdie. He blushed and hid his face in my shoulder.

"You do writing, Meimei?"

"Yes... I actually write romance novels and the like"

"I-is your full name Meimei Wang, then? I-if it is, I've read some of your stuff... it's very good"

The asian fraulein nodded and smiled. I looked at Birdie with a huge smirk. I didn't know he read that kind of stuff, kesese! He just rolled his eyes and gave me a gently smack on the shoulder. We hugged until the bell rang, and I walked to my seat while Birdie talked with the asian. The gifts had been... absolutely awesome, especially since Birdie and I would have to spend more time apart... which was almost as unawesome as Luddy in a tutu. Now picture that. Yeah, that's how unawesome the situation was.


	28. Chapter 28

(AN: I took down the last version of this chapter because I didn't feel like it did any good to the story at all... so this is the second version, 2.0 if you will)

The rest of school was boring. I didn't pay much attention in history (for once). Mr Zwingli wasn't there, so we had a supply teacher. He looked kind of dorky. His name was Mr Daren. I called him Mr Dorken as soon as he said his name, so he didn't like me very much. Oh well. Birdie shot me a look and I didn't say anything for the rest of the class. Mr Dorken must have picked up on it, because after class he stopped us.

"Gilbert and... you. I would like to talk to you"

"About what, exactly?"

"About what you called me in class. Take a seat"

Birdie and me looked at each other. Both our faces were pale now. We grabbed two chairs before the teacher stopped us.

"I said _a_ seat. Meaning one"

I let Birdie sit down in the chair while I sat on the floor. My heart was racing so fast I thought it was going to fall out of me! Which would not be awesome! I looked up at Birdie and his face was blank. He was trying so hard to keep his composure. The awesome me... couldn't. I was too scared something was going to happen to Birdie!

"Now, in class I noticed you two. You, albino. You called me a name. And you... you laughed at me.

"I didn't laugh... I-I was looking at him to tell him to st-stop"

"Aww, scared are you?"

"N-no, why would you say that?"

"You're stuttering"

"Th-this is how I always t-talk"

"Riiight... anyways-"

"Mr Daren, he-"

I was cut off by what I can only describe as an evil laugh from him.

"Gilbert. I prefer you call me by my last name... teacher's respect"

"Your last name isn't... Daren?"

"No, it's not. It's... Edelstein"

Edelstein... SHIT THAT WAS RODERICH'S LAST NAME! This must be his dad then! Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck not awesome at all! The asshole teacher pretender moron face of a jerk smirked at us.

"Yes, I believe you are familliar with my son. So, while you were working I pulled some students into the hallway and asked them about you two. They said they had seen you together in the art room, with the teacher there. Is that true?"

Neither of us spoke. There was no way we'd let this... this unawesome fucktard get any more info on us. As it was I was pretty sure it was only a matter of time before Rod up the ass came looking for Birdie.

"Not speaking? That's fine then. Maybe you'd like for me to get my son to talk to you?"

I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed Birdie's hand and we ran outside and to the house, not looking back once. We burst through the door to find that Lovino and Ludwig were there. They stood up as soon as we stepped in the door.

"Bastardos, what happened?!"

I ignored the question for now. I just needed to know that Birdie was okay. As soon as our bags were off our shoulders, I hugged Birdie close. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders tighter than normal and was breathing pretty heavily. It might have been from the running, but we weren't that far from the school... just down the street, in fact. I looked at bruder, fear making my eyes a striking red.

"Is Roderich going to look for Birdie today?"

"Nein. He still trusts me and Lovino, he would have told us"

"Then what is Lovino doing here?"

"I came to make sure Matteo is doing okay, is there an issue with that?"

I sighed in relief and looked at Birdie. He had his face buried in my shoulder and... it felt like he was crying. I picked him up and carried him to the couch. I sat down beside Lovino, who looked at his friend in worry.

"Bastard... what the fuck happened?"

"Roder-ick's father was our supply teacher... I called him a name because he said his name was Mr Daren. He thought Birdie was laughing at him, so he made us stay after school. He said some kids have seen me and Birdie in the art room at lunch... he threatened to get his asshole son in there when we didn't talk so I got us the fuck out of there. Bruder, call Ms Braginskaya"

"Why?"

"Because I need to talk to her!"

Bruder looked at me weird, but made the call anyways. He got Ms Braginskaya and handed the phone to me. Birdie had settled on my lap and was just resting his head on my shoulder now. He looked... pretty depressed and still had wide eyes like he was scared. I frowned and stroked his cheek before speaking.

"Ms Braginskaya?"

"Da? What is wrong, Gilbert? Ludwig told me this was an emergency call"

"Ja, it is. Roderich's dad was our supply teacher in history today... and the unawesome jerk found out about us"

"...That is not good at all... how... did he approach you with it?"

"In class he said his name was Mr Daren, but when he held us after school he said his name was Mr Edelstein... what did he put as his name for the list of supply teachers?"

"Mr Daren... he lied to the schoolboard then. I will see to it that some action is taken, don't worry... how is Matvey handling all this?"

I looked down at mein liebe. He looked up at me with scared, sorrowful dark purple eyes.

"He's not doing so awesome... we're both..."

"Freaking out?"

"Ja..."

"Put me on speaker"

I did as she was asked and Birdie looked at me in blank curiousity. I told the Ukrainian teacher she was on speaker.

"Good. Now listen. Matvey, you don't have to be afraid. Gilbert has taken care of you so far, and what is on the back of the cross you got?"

"L-love"

"And has he shown that to-"

"Y-you don't even need to ask that. B-but...I'm not scared for me, I'm scared for Gil... I-I don't want anything bad to happen to him ever again..."

"Da, I wish that too. And Gilbert, you do not need to be afraid either. You have incredible inner strength, both of you do. If a confrontation happens, I know you will be able to handle it. Ludwig?"

"Ja?"

"Not to be picky, but... maybe help Gilbert every once in a while, da? You of all people know what he goes through, and I'm sure trying to keep Matvey a secret isn't exactly easy"

"Ja... I'll try to help"

"Good. There is someone else there, da?"

"Si, Ms Braginskaya... and before you flip out, me and Matteo are best friends... thanks to potato bastard number two we got reunited, so he's fine in my books"

"Ah... I've seen you in drama class, you know how to do the stage combat perfectly. Use that when you have to beat up Gilbert. Oh, and one more thing. I notice that the Hungarian girl is also giving you trouble, so my little sister Natalya is protecting you from that angle. I hope you all feel better, da? I've got to go, Meimei is already home"

"Danke, Ms Braginskaya. Tell Meimei we say thanks again, ja?"

"Da! See you tomorrow"

With that the line went dead. I looked at Birdie, who was now smiling a bit. Even if it was just a little forced. He obviously needed awesome cuddle time, and what better place to do it then on the couch? Rolling his eyes (and apparently reading my awesome mind...) Lovino got up from the couch and sat in the chair, while bruder sat in the computer chair. I sat up and took my shirt and sweater off, leaving only the neck...chain on my upper half. Birdie did the same. I layed down so my awesome back was pressed against the couch and mein awesome Birdie's chest was pressed against mine. We stretched over the entire length of the couch, our bodies touching the entire way. We wrapped our arms around each other and I pressed my cheek to the top of Mattie's head. Birdie snuggled closer to the awesome me and sighed in happiness. I saw Lovino roll his eyes and look at me.

"I fucking hate to say it... but you guys just might make it. But. If you hurt him, there will be one less albino on this planet, got it?"

I nodded and rubbed Birdie's shoulderblades. Bruder was looking at us kind of weirdly. I raised an eyebrow as silent consent for him to stop gawking.

"Where... where did you get those iron crosses?"

"Ms Braginskaya gave them to us for our one week anniversary"

"That's today?"

"Ja... you forgot, didn't you"

"Well, it's not my anniversary, is it?"

"True... but yours and Feli's awesome anniversary is... next week, I believe. How long has it been, two years?"

"Ja..."

"I don't know why the awesomeness he's stayed with you for this long..."

"Hey!"

"What!? You were thinking it, keesese!"

I could feel Birdie smiling against my neck. He gently smacked me over the head and I pulled him a little closer. He wrapped one of his legs around mine, a lot like you'd do with an awesome body pillow. Mattie shivered a little. It was pretty cold, even with an awesomely warm and awesome body pressed against me. For some reason there was a blanket on the floor... I thought I got them all! Whatever. I attempted to grab it with my foot, but I couldn't reach it. Sighing, I just gave up. The Italian rolled his eyes, picked up the blanket and threw it at my head. The world was awesomely red for a second before I pulled it off my face and threw it over me and Birdie.

"Matteo... you weren't at school yesterday. Come to think of it, neither was your bastard"

Birdie knew his friend wouldn't be able to hear me if he spoke into my shoulder, so he turned around. Because of the way I had held him, my hand was right on his chest. I slid that hand a little under him, so I was still holding his top half. Birdie threaded his fingers through the arm that was wrapped around his waist from under him.

"O-oui... I was sick a-and Gil took care of me"

"Really? I would have thought that all the bastard would do was tell you to sleep"

"N-no... he gave me water and medicine a-and he cuddled with me"

"You kind of do that constantly though..."

"Ja, because Birdie's too awesome _not_ to cuddle with!"

"Even when he's fucking sick and may not want to do that?"

"I-I did want to... you have to stay w-warm when you're sick, oui?"

My arms were getting tired of the way I was holding Birdie so I slid them out from under him. I wrapped them around his waist and snuggled closer to his back. Someone turned on the TV. Dog the Bounty Hunter was on. I didn't pay much attention tot he show, I was too busy focusing on the awesome one in my arms. It was really awesome how we'd calmed down, just like that... I guess it was awesome to know that Natalya would be protecting us, and that we were basically guaranteed the rest of the day free from terror. Though I wasn't so sure about tomorrow...


	29. Chapter 29

The awesome us cuddled for a little bit before Birdie's stomach started growling. He turned around and kissed my cheek.

"You hungry too? I-I can make supper"

"Birdie, you don-"

"Bastard, has he never fed you his pancakes?"

"Nein... are they good?"

The look of utter disbelief Lovino gave me was enough to tell me that they were amazing. I let go of Birdie and he went to the kitchen. I could hear him grab ingredients. He called Lovino in there, and the... darker haired guy walked back in and glared.

"Matteo wants it to be a surprise... so try to go in there and you will have a broken nose"

I nodded and flipped on my back. I rested my arms behind my head and hummed to a random song I didn't know the title of. I think it was from titanic. The... the one with the flute? Whatever. The awesome me had that song stuck in my head, and while I didn't match the chick's voice at all, I made a pretty damned awesome version of it! Soon, a... holy shittt it was fucking awesome! A scent like awesomeness itself wafted into the room and I almost passed out from the awesomeness. But because I am awesome, I didn't pass out. Luddy should have passed out, because he still wasn't awesome. Lovino was awesome by association, so that's why he didn't pass out. Birdie came in a while later, carrying a plate of chocolate chip pancakes and a bottle of maple syrup. He sat on my awesome legs and put the plate on my blanketed stomache.

"Am I the awesome table, Birdie?" I teased with a smirk.

"Oui... you want a taste, a-awesome table?"

"Ja! Though... I'm a table of awesomeness, I kinda don't ha-"

I was cut off by Birdie shoving some pancake in my mouth. I almost had to take an emergency 'bathroom' break. What!? If you ever taste Mattie's pancakes, you will know what I'm talking about! They were... aaaah, just awesome! My eyelids fluttered a little and I almost didn't want to swallow. But, there were plenty more pancakes on that plate, so the awesome me would get lots of chances to taste the awesomeness!

Birdie fed me the pancakes, and when I could open my eyes I saw an adorable blush and a very pleased smile. As soon as the food was done, Birdie set the plate on the floor, got under the blanket and layed down on the awesome me. We cuddled with full stomaches which were full of possibly the best meal I would ever have in my entire awesome life. Bruder decided to play on the computer again while Lovino was texting someone. Then we heard a knock on the door. I quickly flipped me and Birdie so he was against the couch and under the blanket. I whispered a quick appology and pretended to be asleep.

"Hola, everybody! Huh? Where is Mateo?"

I breathed a sigh of relief and flipped us back too the original position. I smiled up at Birdie, who kissed me on the cheek before putting his head on my shoulder and up close to my neck.

"Oh, there he is! Hola, Gilbert and Mateo!"

"Hallo Antonio, what's up?"

"Actually, I came to get mi tomate... we can't make Rod more suspicious, si?"

Lovino sighed and got up. He patted Birdie on the back and glared at me as a goodbye. Antonio waved and the two were off, leaving me, Mattie and bruder. We looked at each other and bruder stopped playing his game on the computer.

"Well... it is your anniversary... what do you want to do?"

"U-um... we could play the Wii Feliciano gave us?"

"Kesese, good idea! Only, for the Miis they don't have red eyes and non-old person white hair as an option..."

"Th-then just make your character look really stupid?"

"Kesese, they don't have anything as stupid as Rod up the ass on that thing!"

Birdie just smiled and Luddy turned on the Wii. Mattie's character looked almost exactly like him, minus the adorableness... only real-life Mattie had that. He named it William. Luddy's looked exactly like him. Scary, I know. Mine... kesesesese! Mine was a fat tan guy with his eyes huge and practically on his ears, he had a mole that looked like a beard and he had makeup on. I named him MrHeadlytz, because his eyes looked like fucking headlights. I looked on either side of me to see that both bruder and Birdie were facepalming. I laughed and confirmed my character, then we decided to play Wii Sports.

Birdie picked bowling, and me and bruder soon found out why. Birdie was awesome at it! He seven strikes in a row (that's very good in bowling) and left me and bruder in the dust. Luddy picked boxing and he was... predictably awesome at it. Though the fact that he was grinning evily whenever he knocked someone out made me scoot a little closer to Birdie...

I chose baseball because it was fun imagining the tiny little ball was either Elizaveta or Roderich! I got eight home runs in a row and Luddy got three. Birdie got five. We played that for a while until it was bedtime. We shut off the Wii and I hugged Birdie from behind. Bruder rolled his eyes and gave me the 'You're being awesomely immature and I'm so much of a square that I can't handle it' look.

"Bruder... he has to come upstairs"

"Fine. But you may one finger on him and that finger will not be there anymore. Got it?"

Birdie turned around and wrapped his arms around my neck.

"Gil... I-I'm going to be fine, oui? I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be back down"

I nodded and let go of him. While he was going upstairs I sat on the couch. Luddy frowned and sat beside me.

"Bruder... why don't you trust me with Mat?"

I sighed and looked at Luddy. It... really was only partially his fault.

"Well... including my awesome self there's only five people I trust enough to leave Birdie alone with... and we don't exactly have a great history, do we?"

"Ja... I understand. I guess I had that coming, huh?"

I patted bruder on the shoulder and he sort of smiled. But it was really him turning up one corner of his mouth.

"Don't worry Gilbert... I will not do anything to him at all. You have my word"

Every time bruder has given me his word, he's kept it. So as long as he was bound by that awesome promise, I trusted him. I heard the toilet flush and I soon saw Birdie coming down the stairs. A smile spread across my face as he jumped in my awesome arms and snuggled close to me.

"W-we need to get my stuff from the attic..."

"Actually, that's already done. While I was waiting for you two to come home, I moved all the boxes and... the bird. Bruder, he better not annoy me... though I guess he's sleeping with you"

There was a chirp that came from my head. I tried to look up, but my awesome eyes crossed and Birdie laughed at me. Gilbird flew and landed on my arm, chirping happily. I guess the awesome little guy missed me! I smiled at the yellow puffball and he flew back in my hair. At least I would have a little awesomeness with me when I slept... anyways, it was time for me and Birdie to say goodnight. I sighed and stroked Birdie's cheek.

"Well Birdie... we unawesomely have to say goodnight..."

"Oui... I-I love you, Gil"

"I love you too, Birdie... sweet dreams, and if anything happens come down to get me, ja?"

"Hah, I-I doubt anything will happen... sweet dreams to y-you too and I hope we get sleep..."

"Ja... goodnight Birdie"

"Bon nuit, Gil"

We kissed and Birdie was standing up. He kissed me once on the top of my awesome head, probably kissed Gilbird and went upstairs. Bruder also went up, leaving the awesome me and my bird downstairs. I wasn't tired at all yet, so I figured I should probably feed Gilbird. I walked to the kitchen where the birdseed was and put some in a little medicine cup. I watched him eat hungrily and as soon as he was done I filled the cup with water for him to quench his tiny thirst .

I walked to the living room with Gilbird nesting in my hair. The computer looked pretty inviting, so I went on it and plugged in the headphones. I searched for the theme from Titanic and listened to that over and over again. I was awesomely trolling people on Gaia, because I could and it was awesome.

My character was this really slutty-looking girl and I had at least three people a day ask me out. However, I was awesomely with Birdie. And honestly... a relationship with someone in fricken Ohio wouldn't work... the awesome me is a very... uh... I need the person I'm dating to be physically hours ticked by pretty quickly. What can I say, trolling is fun! I had a second character that actually looks like me. I did a pretty awesome job of creating it, if I say so my awesome self.

It was four in the morning when I finally put down the heaphones and said goodbye to the five people who were trying to ask me out. And they would always get awesomely scared when I said I was actually a guy and showed them a picture of me, kesesesese! Though every once in a while I'd get the reeeeeeally desperate guys who try to start... R rated rps with me. Then I tell them that I awesomely already have a boyfriend and they give up. That's the funniest!

Anyways, I was too tired to walk all the way downstairs. So I just stripped down to my boxers and layed down on the couch, putting the blanket me and Birdie were using earlier over me. Gilbird cheeped a soft goodnight and I was awesomely out like a light.

When I woke up, Birdie was on top of the awesome me. I looked at the clock and it was six forty, so we had twenty minutes until we technically had to wake up. Birdie climbed under the blanket with the awesome me and let me use him as a pillow for half an hour. Bruder came down the stairs and Birdie quickly explained that he'd come down thirty minutes earlier. Luddy huffed and went to the kitchen. I snuggled closer to Birdie for warmth and awesomeness. He stroked my hair and patted Gilbird.

"G-goodmorning, you two"

"Morning Birdie... did you awesomely sleep?"

"Oui... a lot b-better than in the attic"

"Good... Bruder, do we have time to have showers? The awesome me- US! I said us. We need to be awesomely clean!"

"ja, I think so... but... not together, ja?"

"Wha- Luddy! Were you reading your magazines when you were up there, kesesesese?"

"Shut it"

That was all the info I needed. Birdie and me went to separate bathrooms so we could shower at the same time. I awesomely took five minutes and Birdie took a little longer. Though I guess that's okay. His hair is really thick, it must be a bitch to comb out! The awesome me just leaves my hair messy, because it's awesome that way. We met on the main floor at the same time and hugged. Birdie was wearing a neon green sweater and dark jeans. It looked pretty awesome on him! Though the neon was a little noticable... whatever. That wouldn't be a problem, right?

We kissed and said goodbye, then Luddy dragged me out of the house. What was it with him and dragging the awesome me? I know I'm not two hundred pounds of muscle like he is, but I can't be that light!

When we got to the school I could tell that something had gone down. Roderich... did not look pleased at all. Oddly enough, he was alone. I figured Lovino couldn't be far away though. However, when I did feel a punch it knocked me over. And guess who's fucking dumbass face was over mine when I could look again.

"Hello, villain! The hero is here to get revenge, hahahah!"


	30. Chapter 30

If you guessed Alfred, then ding ding ding! We have an awesome winner! The fucktard was grinning over me like he'd won the fucking lottery. Then, he smirked. I felt his fists connect with my ribs and body and head, and it was pretty damned hard to stay quiet. His punches hurt a hell of a lot more than Elizaveta's! He was just about to hit me in the face when a voice stopped him.

"ALFRED!"

The dumbass turned around, and went totally pale. Coming toward us was Natalya. _The_ Natalya. She was the hottest girl in the school by far. so whether you were taken or not you did as she said. She was also the sister of Ivan- who was dating Alfred... kesesesese!

"What? The h-hero is busy!"

"Da. But not as busy as you were last night with big brother! I could hear your screaming and your noises from the damned basement, where I had to relocate myself so I wouldn't slit your throat open!"

The Belarusian girl yanked Al-fuck off of me, threw him on the ground and bitch-slapped him so hard he flipped onto his stomache. Yeah. She was surprisingly strong for her size. She glared at him and Ludwig and Roder-ick and they ran like fuck, not bothering to even take my lunch money. Awesome! Natalya pulled me up into a sitting position and looked me over.

"You are Gilbert, da?"

"Ja"

"Come to the art room at lunch with your boyfriend. I shall bring Lilli"

"You're friends with her?"

"We're dating. I believe your boyfriend and her may have somethings in common, and let's face it. They both need friends other than us"

"Ja... danke"

"For what?"

"Protecting me and Birdie... it's pretty awesome of you"

"Da, well... big sister told me to, and if it means keeping people away from big brother then I'm all for it"

With that she stood up and waked away. I got up and walked to breakfast club... to find a very confused Joanne and no Birdie.

"Gilbert... shouldnt Matthew be here by now?"

"Ja...but there's no way Bitchrick and Luddy got him"

"Oui, they ran in the opposite direction. And I'm guessing that girl is protecting you?"

"Protecting me and Mattie, to be awesomely exact. Ms Braginskaya told her to"

"Ms Braginskaya knows about your situation?"

I explained all about the Ukrainian teacher and how she'd helped us, even showing the french chick the iron cross and the inscription on the back. Joanne smiled and nodded, though I could tell she was a little jealous.

"But, the cake was very very awesome and we had a lot more fun with that, kesesese!"

"Hah... I believe the bell is going to ring, so you should probably head into school. If you've gone to the art room these past few days, I'm sure Matthew will get the hint to go there. He's a smart kid, after all"

I nodded and said goodbye. The bell rang just as I was in the hallway for math, so I managed to get to my seat before the teacher turned around and started counting the lates. Well, at least that was a good thing. Though my ribs and stomach hurt like a bitch... I think I got cut again. Damn it all. I was to busy talking to Joanne to check! Discretely, I lifted up my sweater (no, I had not worn a shirt under it) and saw an inch-long scratch that was bleeding. I asked to go to the bathroom, but I was unawesomely denied. Damned stupid Mr Hassan! Go back to fucking Egypt, where you can do your dumb no-going-to-the-bathroom thing! You know what? If I ever go to Egypt I'm gonna shit on the pyramids. TAKE THAT, HASSAN!

Anyways, you can tell that math sucked and science wasn't much better. We were still doing that fucking equation shit, except for this time it was unawesomely married with variables! How does that even work!? How the fuck was the awesome me supposed to write a balanced equation when we didn't know how many fucking atoms of iron there were! Ugh... hell with it. As soon as I graduate, I'm suing the fucking school for being shitty and stupid. I don't fucking need this shit in art! I just need to know how to use a pencil, paintbrush and a ruler!

When the bell for lunch came I ran out of the class and sprinted to the art room. Ms Braginskaya was just going in. She held open the door for me and I closed it, turning on the lights as I went by them. I hopped on a desk and looked at the Ukrainian teacher.

"Natalya did an awesome job of protecting the awesome me this morning"

"Did she? I noticed Lovino was not with the others"

"Ja, I don't know where he is... but Birdie's brother was unawesomely beating the awesome me up, and Natalya awesomely bitch-slapped him and got everyone the fuck away from me!"

"...Hah, you do realise that she only took that opportunity because it was a chance for her to get a 'crack' at Alfred?"

"Ja, the awesome me knows. She's coming to see me and Birdie in here and she's bringing Lilli"

"Ah, that is a good idea! Speaking of which, where is Matvey?"

"I don't know... he didn't come to breakfa-"

Just then the door swung open and Birdie nearly fell in. He immediately shut the door and shivered.

"G-Gil, I'm sorry! I went back to change my sweater, b-because neon was a stupid idea, b-but I fell asleep and w-when I woke up, it was already lunch s-so I ran here and forgot t-to grab a different sweater"

I got an awesome idea of how to warm Birdie up, and do some awesome cuddling in the process! My sweater was four sizes to big, so I could take my arms out of the sleeves and still be able to grab stuff from in my sweater! I grabbed Birdie's hand and walked to the back of the room. I sat against the wall and unzipped the hoodie, holding it open for Birdie. He sat down in front of me and blushed.

"B-but Gil... won't it stretch to much?"

"Nein, it's gonna be awesomely fine. Or, are you scared of the awesome me's chest?" I teased.

Birdie made a face and sat between my legs. He wrapped his arms around my midsection and layed his head on my shoulder, close to my heart. I put one leg overtop of his, zipped the sweater back up and wrapped my arms around Birdie from inside the hoodie. I gently pressed my cheek to the top of his head and smiled. Mattie snuggled closer and I could feel him relaxing.

"M-merci, Gil... this is a l-lot warmer"

"Ja... maybe keep an emergency hoodie by the awesome door?"

"M-maybe..." Birdie somehow managed to get even closer, so it probably looked like we were a two headed monster of awesomeness! Ms Braginskaya sat on a desk in front of us and watched us snuggle. By now, we were pretty much used to it. Everyone who knew had watched us cuddle, so it didn't make a difference to the awesome me. She got up and went to her desk after a while, leaving us in the corner. The door opened just as I was about to kiss Birdie. Damnit...

"Big sister, where is the albino and his boyfriend?"

"Gilbert and Matvey?"

"Da"

"They're in the back corner"

Natalya and Lilli walked toward us. The Belarusian girl was eating a cookie, and it looked like her girlfriend had given it to her, if the pleased face Lilli was making was anything to go by. When Birdie was distracted, I finally went for the kiss. Birdie was shocked at first, but closed his eyes and kissed back. Awesome! I pulled back with a smirk and nuzzled his hair. The girls were sitting on the same desk Ms Braginskaya had been sitting on. Lilli smiled down at us.

"H-hello... Um, my name's Lilli"

"I-I'm Matthew... or as G-Gil likes to call me, Birdie..."

"Da. I am obviously Natalya"

"B-bonjour...eheh"

Birdie was blushing so badly. I could tell he was nervous and searching for words, so I shifted him a little and he buried his face in my neck. He started placing soft kisses there, making focusing on conversation difficult.

"So Lilli, why did you want to meet the awesome us?"

"Because I wanted to make new friends! I only know you because of that rumour a couple years back and I didn't know Matthew went to this school in the first place! So, I kind of figured that since... well, since we're having similar upbringings, we would become friends!"

Birdie's interest was immediately piqued by a part or the last sentence.

"Y-you've been... a-abused too?"

"Yes... b-but please don't worry! I'm living with Nat and Ms Braginskaya while mom's in jail... for life"

I frowned and noticed the tears glistening in the poor girl's eyes. Natalya noticed them too, because as each one fell she kissed them away. I looked at Birdie to make sure he was okay. He was frowning and had a bit of a faraway look in his eyes... like he was remembering something. He winced and made a small whimper of pain. I kissed him and he kissed back immediately, desperate for something to bring him back from the past. I made sure the kiss was slow, so he'd know he wasn't in any danger and he was with the awesome me. Eventually he calmed down and out of breath, we pulled back. Birdie's eyes were filled with sadness and pain. He was still remembering probably everything that'd ever happened to him.

"Matvey has had hardships then, da?"

I glanced over and saw that Natalya had picked up her girlfriend. She sat down on the floor in front of me and a distressed Birdie. Lilli buried her face in her lover's shoulder. Birdie had already done the same.

"Ja... Birdie's had a lot of unawesome shit happen in his life"

"Like?"

"Uh... maybe la-"

"G-Gil, you c-can tell h-her..."

I frowned again and pressed my cheek against the top of Mattie's head.

"His dad was an abusive asshole who pulled a knife on Birdie a lot of times. There's scars all over Birdie. And there's one on his ba-"

I felt the wetness of Birdie's tears on my bare skin. Shit! I hadn't meant to make the poor guy cry! For the next few minutes I focused completely on trying to make Birdie feel better through gentle touches and kisses. After that didn't work, I decided to try something awesomely else.

"Matthew... Williams. I love you, and I always will. No matter what happens, you will always be mine"

Next thing I knew my lips were on a date with Birdie's. I kissed back and poured all the love I had for Birdie in it. He kissed back, and slowly I could feel the love being returned to me. By the end, we were both kissing each other with all the awesomeness in our bodies. Which, as you know, is a lot. We _are_ the most awesome people on earth, after all! When we pulled back, there was finally life in Birdie's eyes. He gently took the iron cross on my neck in his hands and read the back, smiling when he saw it.

"M-merci, Gil... th-that would have been really bad if you weren't here"

"You're awesomely welcome, Birdie. How bad is bad?"

"It would feel l-like everything was actually h-happening to me... I have a very good imagination"

"Ah... well, you're safe and away from him, ja? And you're with the awesome me... and I love you"

Birdie smiled and kissed me on the cheek.

"I-I love you too, Gil... je t'aimerai toujours"

"Translation?"

"I will love you always"

I smiled and hugged Birdie close. We looked over at Lilli,who was now smiling at us. Her face was still red, but that was to be expected. She did just finish having a crying session, after all. She and Mattie smiled at each other, and I'm pretty sure something passed between them Which was awesome! Now that everyone was calm and feeling a lot more awesome, we just snuggled in our couples until the bell rang. Natalya left, and Lilli stayed. I didn't know she was an artist! The awesome art class went by pretty fast. But for once, I hoped Mr Zwingli was in history... I'd just skip if Mr Pretender was there. And of course, I would take Birdie with me. There was no way I'd leave him behind.


	31. Chapter 31

Birdie and I went to history. I did want to kiss him first, but... I couldn't. There was still the risk that Mr Fuckfacestein was still there. We walked in to see that there was another supply, but it was a different guy who looked like he was in his early twenties. I sighed in relief and sat down, trying hard not to make any comments, or else some fucked up shit might happen. Like he turned out to be Rod up the ass's brother or something. _That_ would suck ass.

We were learning about world history, starting first and awesomely with Germania, Roma and Prussia! We learned all about those three country/empire's fall and in my opinion the awesome nation of Prussia was even more awesome! Anyways, I will describe the teacher, because he looked so fucking dorky. Sorry nerds, but he had the full nerd look. It didn't even look cool on him!

His blue and red striped pants were almost touching his neck and he was wearing a pure white shirt. With a breast pocket that had 'Mommy's Angel' sewn on the top of it. You think that's bad, just wait. His glasses were for his eyes and cheeks, it seemed, because that's how far they reached. Did he really need to have glasses that big? Did he actually have four eyes? The awesome me didn't know. Maybe it was like Jack Sparrow in The Deadman's Chest where he had eyes painted on his eyelids. Which would explain why I didn't see him blink once. Or maybe he blinked at the same time I did... that would have been creepy.

Oh, and his voice sounded like... hm... Pablo from the Backyardigans crossed with Maggie from that other kid's show. It was so unawesome yet awesomely funny that the awesome me had a hard time not laughing. I snuck a look at Birdie, and he shot me a look back that basically said 'Do anything to make him pissed and you will not get cuddle time'. Maybe that was an awesome exaggeration, because Birdie's so nice. But whatever.

When the bell rang I took my time packing up my stuff so Birdie and me could maybe meet in the art room. We were just about to leave when the teacher stopped us again. We looked at each other and both our eyes were wide with fear. I saw Birdie swallow and we turned around.

"Please, grab a seat"

"One or two?"

"Hah... two. I like your sense of humour, Gilbert"

"Danke... but I wasn't trying to be funny"

"Just happens naturally?"

"Nein... well, ja, but last time we had to stay, the... _teacher_ was pretty unawesome to us..."

We sat in front of the desk on separate chairs. The teacher stood up and pulled his pants back down to a respectable level, pulled his shirt out of his pants and took the glasses off. He cracked his voice and got it to sound like he was actually male, instead of a sixety-year-old shitfaced lady. He sat back down and looked at us, his hands folded under his chin and a small smile playing on his lips.

"So... you are Gilbert and Matthew"

"Ja"

"By the way, you don't need to be scared of me... I'm a good friend of Meimei and Katyusha"

I still didn't trust him at all. I guess he could see that because he sighed.

"Katyusha told me about what happened yesterday... that's why she asked for me personally to supply teach for today"

"And how do we know we can trust you?"

"Does anyone but Meimei, Katyusha and yourselves know about the iron crosses that have 'Happiness' and 'Love' on the back?"

"Who has which awesome engraving?" I countered quickly.

"Wow... you are really protective. You have Happiness and Matthew has Love"

Birdie looked at me and gave me a small smile.

"I-I think we can trust him, G-Gil"

I sighed and looked back at the teacher. He was smiling again, obviously pleased at the acceptance from Birdie. But, I didn't think there was any way I'd trust him.

"So guys, now that you trust me-"

"One of us does"

"G-Gil..."

"What?"

"B-be nice? He hasn't done anything to us"

"Yet"

"G-Gil!"

"Fine... the awesome me trusts you, but only because Birdie's gonna take away cuddle time"

"I-I wouldn't do _that_, w-we both need it..."

Ms Braginskaya appeared at the door. She smiled at her alleged friend and smiled at us before stepping into the room. The teacher sighed and smiled back at her, while giving me a sideways glance. I softly growled at him.

"You were right, Katyusha..."

"About what exactly, John?"

"That Gilbert is not willing at all to trust me..."

"Maybe it's because I don't know if you're an Edelstein or not"

"Gilbert... I realise you are trying to protect Matvey, but could you trust him just a little?"

"Nope"

"Gil, I-I will take away cuddle time if y-you don't at least stop being me-"

"So, John, the awesome me trusts you now... sort of... a little?"

"Th-that was pretty unconvincing..."

"Da..."

The teacher stood up, only to sit on his desk. He looked at us with a sort of frown.

"There's two reasons I asked you guys to stay after school. One, I'm proud of you Gilbert for not laughing... though you did a terrible job at hiding it.

I smirked at the last comment. Maybe this guy wasn't so bad... nah, he was still unawesome.

"And, I was thinking on your situation last ni-... whoops, heh... Ms Braginskaya told me, because she figured I should know a little about you before I teach you. Is there a place for Matthew to go in case your house isn't safe Gilbert?"

My eyes widened. Shit, we hadn't thought of that! Where would Birdie go? He couldn't go back to his old house, and I wasn't going to make him sleep in the forest or something. I heard the door close and felt pressure on my lap. Birdie was sitting on me, probably because he couldn't stand for us to not touch anymore. He sat on me so his legs were hanging off the side of my awesome thigh. I wrapped my arms around him and tried to warm his arms by rubbing them.

"W-well... papa does own a café downtown... a-and I do have some bus tickets, s-so if the need arises I-I can go there"

"Birdie, will Francis be there though?"

"I-I dont know... but the staff know m-me, so they'll let me call you..."

I pressed my cheek against Mattie's head and he buried his face in my neck. He told me the number and made me memorise it, in case something unawesome happened.

"Alright, now that that's settled, I think it's time for you to go home now"

"Ja... Birdie... watch out a window or something, and if the band of dipshits come after me then just go right to Francis's café, okay?"

"O-oui... J-je t'aime"

"Ich liebe dich auch... stay awesome, ja?"

"Oui..."

We hugged briefly and I left. I was unawesomely sad that I couldn't let Birdie go first... the awesome me wanted to protect the awesome him! But... unawesomely enough, this was the best way to do it. I shook my head to get out any unawesome thoughts and found my awesome head connecting with the pavement as soon as I was outside. I knew something unawesome was going to happen! Out the corner of my eye I saw Birdie leave the school and catch the bus just in time. I closed my eyes and focused on the memory of the feeling of Birdie cuddling with me, and not the feeling of the fists connecting with my skin.

There was a tomato-y smell, so I figured Lovino must have been the one punching me. I guess it was a bit of a break. I opened my eyes again and looked up at the three. Bruder was pinning me down, Fucktard was standing there smirking and obviously Lovino was beating me up. Suddenly, I got an awesome idea! I spit in bruder's face and he let go to wipe my awesome saliva off his face. In a split second, I grabbed my bag, somehow got to my feet and booked it the hell out of there.

I ran past the house because it was the first place they would look for me and Birdie wouldn't be there. I kept running until I couldn't hear the footsteps or swearing behind me. I looked back to see that they were all going into the house. Shit. There was no way I could go back there! I was on the road to downtown, where Birdie said his papa's restaurant thing was. I figured that I might as well go there... where else _could_ I go?

Then I realised I had no idea where the place was. I sighed and walked the rest of the way downtown. I sat at one of the bus stops, hoping it was the right one and Birdie wasn't already there. However, luck was not with me. I waited for about forty-five minutes before I just gave up. I walked around aimlessly before asking a few people where 'Love From France' was.

One of them pointed me to a stripper joint, another to a druggy in the corner. But finally someone showed me the way. I quickly thanked them and ran into the store. The person up front was... Birdie! Oh thank gott! He called out to the back for his dad to take over. Mattie ran to me and hugged me, tears of joy running down his face.

"G-Gil! I'm so happy you're okay"

"And the awesome me is happy you made it here okay... uh, people are unawesomely staring"

it was true. There was a few people looking at us and smiling, while a couple others were trying to figure out if Birdie was an awesome boy or not. He grabbed my hand and led me to the back. I heard Francis yell for someone to take over and he walked back with us. They led me to a staff room that had the L shaped couches around a table. Birdie and me sat down on one, and Francis took the one across from us.

"Mon ami, what brings you 'ere?"

"I awesomely got away from bruder and his damned friends"

"H-how did you do that?"

"I awesomely spit in Luddy's face and he let go... but Birdie, we can't go back there for today... all three of them went into the house, and I doubt they're going to come out tonight"

"O-oh... well, we can just sleep here then, r-right Papa?"

"Oui! It would be my pleasure to 'ouse you for the night! Welcome to la café de moi!"

"Danke Francis... you are possibly the most awesome adult I've ever met"

"E-even more awesome than Ms Braginskaya and Meimei?"

"Ja... Francis did help to make you, after all"

Birdie blushed and leaned his head against my shoulder. I noticed that he had a sweater on now, and I looked down at him in curiousity.

"I-I used to sleep here all the time... w-when dad would get too violent,Papa w-would give me a bus ticket and send me here to sleep. E-everyone is nice in the staff, a-and once we'd explained why I had to sleep h-here occasionally, they a-all chipped in and we got these couches... there's a blanket and a few pillows in the storage room, along w-with some of my clothes"

"Ah... well, this place shall house complete awesomeness tonight! And, it's awesomely friday, so we don't have to worry about school!"

"O-oh right! That's good... s-so Gil, you want to work the front with me?"

I nodded and we got up. The rather large cuban man at the front nodded to us and stepped away. I learned how to make awesome change, how to work the cash register and how to awesomely be nice to strangers. I... may have scared a few customers off at first... what!? I thought they were checking out Birdie! And no, that is not overprotectiveness, that is me not willing to share.

It was eight when we finally got a break. The store was open all night, but me and Birdie were taking the night off to sleep. Francis brought us some awesome food and we ate hungrily... that was basically our supper. He made us french toast, tater tots and brought chocolate milk for us to drink. Birdie got the stuff from the back, and came dressed in a Toronto Maple Leafs shirt that was waaaaay too big for him and pj pants.

He threw me a shirt that said 'Problem?' and had the Grinch with his arms around Pedobear and pj pants. I set the pillow down on one of the couches and put my head on it. I was laying on my back, so Birdie could awesomely sleep against the couch and me. He used my shoulder for a pillow and we kissed each other goodnight. Francis turned out the light and we heard him yelling something in french that made Birdie giggle. There were sounds from the kitchen for most of the night, so the awesome me only got about four hours of sleep. But, the knowledge that Birdie was in my arms and we were both safe was enough to lull me to sleep shortly after the sun came up.


	32. Chapter 32

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was bright purple eyes. Probably a big contrast to my dull red eyes. I blinked a few times to get my vision to stop being blurry and I saw Birdie smiling. I kissed him on the forehead and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I-it's cool watching your eyes get c-colour... goodm-morning amour"

Birdie kissed me and snuggled against my chest. I wrapped my arms around him (again... sometime in the night they must have fallen off of him) and pressed my cheek against his awesome head. We snuggled on the couch until Francis burst through the door, with a grin that almost split his face.

"MON ANGES, TODAY IS THE FIRST OF DECEMBRE! THAT MEAN WE MUST GO CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! HONHONHONHON!"

Birdie's eyes immediately lit up. Mine did too, because I loved christmas! It wa the one day where I was guaranteed not to get beat up! Plus, bruder got a bonus at christmas, so we usually got some awesome stuff! This year, I guessed things would be better because we did have a little more money, thanks to Francis. The french guy left the room... skipping!? I chuckled and looked at Birdie.

"Francis can be very flamboyant, huh?"

"Hah, o-oui,... he i-is french, after all"

"Pure french?"

"Oui... a-and Dad is pure British... so I'm an exact s-split of english and french"

"Kesese, I'm pure awesome! You are too, so that cancels out your unawesome english side!"

Birdie rolled his eyes and snuggled back into my chest. He sighed in happiness and I kissed the top of his head. The room was pretty cold, so it was nice to have a warm body in my arms. After about half an hour, we finally looked at each other and kissed . As usual, it was mind-blowingly awesome! Halfway through, we were interrupted though. Francis came bursting in again, this time with food. Though he still had the grin... which looked kind of creepy... but whatever.

"Anges! I 'ave brought food to assist you in getting dressed and getting out to the store with me!"

"Uh... I dont have any awesomely clean clothes"

"I-I have some for you, G-Gil... I-I used t get sweaters a couple sizes too big for me to hide a-all the scratches a-and cuts with"

"Ah... what about awesome pants?"

"Um... Papa?"

"I 'ave black skinny jeans for you, Gilbert"

I nodded and Birdie got off of me. He went into the storage area and came back with a red sweater that looked like it'd be big on even me. Francis set the food down and went to get the skinny jeans. He'd brought an awesome cinnamon bun for each of us and what looked like hot chocolate for one of us and coffee for the other. Mattie grabbed the coffee and started drinking, leaving the hot chocolate for me. That was fine; I didn't like coffee. We ate while Francis was finding the pants. Birdie looked pretty happy while eating, which brought a smile of awesomeness to my face. He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

"Gil, je t-t'aime"

I set down the cinnamon bun I was eating and kissed Birdie. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and smiled a little. When we finally broke apart Birdie smiled.

"Y-your lips taste like cinnamon"

"Yours taste like awesome, Birdie! And Je t'aime aussi"

"Honhon, such a display of l'amour!"

Birdie jumped at the sound of is father's voice. I smirked and caught the pants as they were thrown at me. I quickly ate the rest of my breakfast and chugged the hot chocolate... which burned my awesome throat. Though, with 'hot' being in the name I probably should have expected that.. oh well. I went into the little bathroom they had in there and changed. I shook my head to get my hair to something resembling normal and looked at my awesome self in the mirror. I have to say, I looked pretty awesome! Even the pants looked awesome on me! I walked back out and both Birdie and Francis cat-called... and I'm pretty sure my cheeks matched my sweater. Birdie laughed and hugged me, looking up at me with a really happy expression.

"D-do you think we could have christmas at Papa's new house? We can invite your brother and Feli and Lovi a-and Antonio, i-if you want"

I thought it over. I could see no reason to not have christmas there. Hell, we could even have a huge awesome sleepover! We could do things German style, by putting little christmas trees in every room and we could have one huge tree in the living room! This was going to be awesome! I nodded and Birdie hugged me tighter, laughing in joy. He let go and went to go change. Francis sat down on the couch and looked at me with a frown. I sat down beside him and he sighed.

"I 'ave bad news..."

Oh no.

"What?"

"Arthur is coming tomorrow to say 'is goodbye to Matthieu... 'e forgot mon ange is living avec vous, so 'e assumed mon ange was staying 'ere... 'e is correct, but only for yesterday et tomorrow"

"If Birdie has to stay, I'm staying. I'm not letting that bastard hurt Birdie again!"

"Oui, well... I want you to 'ide somewhere close, so if things get a little... ah, rough... then you can save 'im"

"What about you? Francis, I don't want you getting hurt either! You're too awesome for that!"

"Honhonhon... that may be true, but if I 'ave to distract Arthur then I will put myself in danger... I never, ever would 'ave married Arthur if this is 'ow it would turn out..."

"But if that never happened, Birdie wouldn't exist... something awesome came out of it, ja? Besides, you're divorcing him... you can find someone who'll treat you awesome. That's what happened with me and Mattie!"

Francis smiled this time. He nodded and I patted his back. Suddenly, all traces of sorrow were gone from his ocean-blue eyes. He sat up straight and the face-splitting grin was back.

"We will be taking the bus to the mall, where the christmas store is! Then, we can go back 'ere and you can meet all the employees!"

"Kesesese, sounds awesome!"

Birdie came back wearing blue jeans and an orange sweater. I stood up and hugged him, taking in the smell of maple... damn he smelled good! Francis stood up and gave us each a bus ticket. He yelled something in french and we were off.

We didn't have to wait that long for the bus once we were at the stop. I was sort of worried that people from our school might see me and Birdie, but whatever. If they snitched on us, I was sure there was something we could do about it. Once we were on the bus, I didn't recognise anyone. But the seats were almost full. There was one left, at the front of the bus. I sat down and pulled Birdie into my lap. He blushed and looked at his father, who winked at us. I made sure my grip on Birdie's waist was good, because I didn't want him flying off my lap! That would be very unawesome, mostly because there was an old guy staring at Birdie and he was sitting across from us... if Birdie landed on him, I think I would have a hard time getting Birdie back...

Once we were at the mall (after a rude fat lady almost knocked Birdie off of me) we practically ran off the bus. Someone had farted, and it smelled like the bathroom after chili night at my awesome house... not pretty at all. Francis walked off with a little more class. Birdie grabbed my hand and we walked around to the front of the mall, where the christmas store was. We walked in and right in front of us was a twenty foot christmas tree. It was decorated and everything! There was tinsel and glass balls of awesomeness and popcorn strings (which some kid was eating... ew). Francis turned to us and smiled.

"Alright, we need to get some decorations for le maison, oui? And we will get some cards to send out to great-aunt Gigi and great-uncle Germain!"

"C-can we send some to mon frére in Iqaluit and his family?"

"Oui, I think we can. Any family you ned a card for, Gilbert?"

I shook my head. All my family was either dead or didn't want anything to do with bruder or me. Francis and Birdie patted me on the back and we started looking around. I saw some christmas art shit and Birdie looked at the set of pastels with me.

"Y-you could draw something on the window with that"

"Kesesese, I probably could! Francis, can I?"

"Sure! It would make the store look trés beau, oui?"

"Ja! Um... I saw some ribbons and shit a little down the aisle... how decorated are you going for, Francis?"

"Onhonhon, so much that Santa will be blind from the lights and beauty of the 'ouse!"

Birdie and me smirked and started running around the store, gathering anything that looked like it would blind the fat old geezer. The french guy sat down on a bench and let us do the work. He only looked at the stuff and decided if it would do or not. We ended up getting so much stuff that we had to wait a while until there was enough room on the bus for us to fit! Once we were back, Francis unloaded the stuff in the staff room beside the couches. Since there was no business at the moment, he called a meeting. Birdie's smile was contagious as we sat down at one end of the couch. Seven unfamiliar people walked into the room and sat down on the couches. Mattie snuggled into my body and I wrapped my arms around him, smiling into his hair. Once everyone except for Francis was seated, the french guy clapped and started the meet and greet thing.

"Mon amis, you all know at least part of what mon petite chou's life is like at 'ome, oui?"

Everyone nodded their heads.

"Well, a few weeks ago- you know what? I will get 'is amour to explain"

Which obviously meant me. I smirked and lifted my head out of Mattie's hair and started.

"Um... hallo, I'm Gilbert..."

I got back seven hello's in a few different languages.

"Ja... well, two or three weeks ago, the awesome me was in the bathroom... crying... and I found Birdie in there-"

"Who's Birdie?"

The person who asked that got a smack on the head from the person beside him.

"Matthew, dumbass!"

"Oh... hah, whoops"

I laughed and Birdie kissed my neck. I could feel his smile against it, and I think it was the second biggest smile I'd ever seen... or felt... on him. I rubbed his back through the sweater and continued.

"So, Birdie and me cried together, then we skipped and we went to a park because we were still pretty emotional-"

"Why were you crying?"

"Because the awesome me's school life sucks"

"Ah... sorry for the interruptions"

"It's awesomely okay. Anyways, Birdie and me sat down on the bench, but Birdie's dad came and I awesomely protected Birdie from him. Then Birdie got kicked out, but he's living with me and by bruder now so it's fine. We started dating the Wednesday after Birdie came, and it was our one week anniversary on Wednesday"

The person who kept interrupting the awesome me leaned in.

"And you haven't done anything to hurt Matthew?"

"N-non, he's been wonderful to me"

Francis smiled and I pulled Birdie into my lap. He snuggled against me, obviously comfortable withthe eight people in front of us. Francis nodded to the seven and they introduced themselves. There was Allan, Ferdinand, Bart, Julie, Gabriel, Theresa and Angus. Allan was the one who kept interrupting the awesome me. He asked us if it was okay if he asked us questions, and Birdie and me both nodded.

"Has Arthur ever come looking for Matthew?"

"Nein... I think he forgot where Mattie moved"

"Have you given each other gifts yet?"

"N-non, but w-we got iron crosses from our art teacher f-for our one week anniversary"

The questions went on like that for a while, until Birdie and me were yawning. Everyone shook my hand and patted Mattie as they left. I decided to just take off my sweater and sleep like that. The jeans were actually pretty comfy! Birdie had the same idea, so we didn't have to get up. We just leaned against the couch and fell asleep in each other's arms. I slept soundly that night, which was weird because I should have been freaking out. But I guess... as long as Birdie's in my arms, he's safe. And quite awesomely, I feel the same about being in his.


	33. Chapter 33

"Is 'e awake?"

"N-non... we're going to have t-to carry him"

That was the first thing I heard as my eyelids fluttered open. I felt myself picked up and... probably Birdie and Francis carried me somewhere. I looked down to see that Birdie was lifting my legs, which meant that his father was carrying my arms. They set me down in the storage room and I saw Birdie's face loom into my vision. He quickly kissed me and frowned.

"G-Gil... Arthur i-is coming, and he... he's going to t-try to hurt me... so we're hiding back here. I-if he finds me, don't do anything, got it?"

"But Birdie, he's going to be unawesome! It's kind of my job to be awesome and protect you!"

"Oui, b-but... I don't want you hurt more than necessary, okay? Pick a shelf and h-hide behind it"

Fear was clouding my eyes and I was sure Birdie could see it. He kissed my forehead and ran off somewhere. I ran in the opposite direction, guessing it wasn't a good idea to be near him. But I made sure I could see Mattie and both doors. So while I wasn't exactly hidden, I was laying in a pile of spilled flour so at least I blended in. Thank awesomeness for being an albino...

I couldn't stand the thought of Birdie being hurt. Why wouldn't he let the awesome me protect him!? That didn't make any sense to me at all. Our relationship was founded on me protecting Birdie and Birdie protecting me from my thoughts and depression... since he couldn't physically protect me. That would mean... a lot of pain for the both of us. It was pretty silent in the storage room. I could hear yelling, and I heard a cry that sounded french. Francis... fuckfuckfuckfuck nein! That meant Catterpillar face was coming here!

I was right (unfortunately). I saw the door slowly creak open. I threw more flour on myself, and I guess he didn't see me because he walked right past me. I saw Birdie shaking in fear, and his dark purple eyes were huge. He was shirtless, so he had no protection and- SHIT ARTHUR FOUND HIM! The fuckass smiled and dragged Birdie out of his hiding spot.

"Oh, hello there Ghost Boy! It's nice to see you again, isn't it?"

Birdie didn't answer. He was shaking to badly. Fucktard smirked and started walking circles around Birdie.

"Not speaking? Well, that's fine. These goodbyes can be so emotional, can't they? Personally, I like to make it quick and simple. However, you are my flesh and blood... so, this will be a... a little longer"

I didn't care what Birdie said. I was going to protect him, even if I got cut with the damned blade I was sure monster brows was hiding. I silently stood up and got closer, all while Arthur's back was turned. I grabbed a large plastic lid and got ready. Arthur suddenly stopped and looked around, making sure no one was there. He didn't see me.

"Hm... I guess albino freak isn't here. That's odd... then, he must have abandoned you too. Ah, wait... I remember now, You were... living with him, yes? Well, I guess the chap couldn't stand you, huh? Couldn't deal with all the scars, and the emotional wreckage that is you?"

You have no idea how bad I wanted to punch Arthur in the jaw and... ugh. Everything he said was a lie. I absolutely loved Birdie, I barely even noticed the scars and I was just as much an emotional mess as Birdie was. Muppet man produced a knife out of his pocket, and it looked like there was blood on it. I swallowed and hoped Francis wasn't hurt to badly...

"Do you remember this, Ghost Boy? It's your old friend, Mr McCain... remember you named him?"

Birdie's eyes were so big and so scared... my heart was unawesomely breaking at the sight.

"Well, I remember... you named him because it was the one I cut your cake with, on your twelfth birthday... and he wanted to say goodbye, Ghost boy"

Arthur lifted the knife and I couldn't take it anymore. I ran, pushed Birdie out of the way and used the plastic lid as a shield. The knife ripped right through it, cutting me too. It was shallow, so I didn't care at the moment. I grabbed a bag of flour and ripped it open, dumping the contents onto the fucktard's face. He coughed and dropped the knife. I picked it up and threw it to the other end of the storage room. When I looked back I was suddenly thrown on the ground. It was one of those times where I wished I wasn't so slim, because I was sure I was easy to pick up. I felt myself hit with something else, and I made a choked yell.

"FREEZE!"

...That wasn't me. I looked and saw two cops. One was a guy and the other was a chick. Arthur stopped with his assault and and put his hands up. I crawled to where Birdie was sitting up, wondering what was going on. Covered in flour and a little blood, I hugged him and felt his tears on my shoulder.

"G-Gil... I told you to not d-do anything"

"Ja, but do you really think the awesome me was going to stand by and let something happen to the awesome you? Birdie, I love you... I will never let anything happen to you"

I sat cross-legged and pulled Birdie into my lap. He looked at the cut and sighed.

"I-it's not deep at all... th-that's a relief"

I looked at Birdie's chest and saw a bruise there. I frowned and traced around it.

"I think I gave you that when I pushed you out of the way. I-"

"You two. Can you stand up?"

We looked to see that the policewoman was talking to us. We nodded and stood up, looking just in time to see Arthur being taken away. She told us to follow her and we went to the staff room. She sat down on a couch and we sat down on the opposite one. I leaned against the corner of the armrest and the couch and pulled Mattie close to me. We looked at the policewoman and she sighed.

"Sorry about this guys..."

"Is Francis okay?"

"Yes, he is fine... though he's going to have to bake more cherry pie..."

"So.. that wasn't blood on the knife?"

"Nope..."

The male police guy walked in and whispered something. His partner nodded and he left the room.

"So... I was going to question you separately, but my partner tells me that you" She pointed to me. "probably wouldn't let that happen"

I smirked a little and wrapped my arm around Birdie's waist securely.

"He's right... I'm guessing Francis told him that?"

"Yeap... and he also said that you're dating, and- um, do you need a bandaid?"

I looked down and saw that I was still bleeding. I put pressure on the cut and looked back at the policewoman.

"Oh, by the way, my name's officer Casey"

"B-bonjour"

"Hallo"

"So... I need to ask you some questions"

I hugged Birdie and abandoned my attempt to stop the blood with pressure. I heard that putting flour on a dog's nail would stop it from bleeding, so thinking it would work for humans I gathered some of the flour from my pants and put it on the cut. The bleeding stopped and I nuzzled Birdie's hair.

"So, I'm guessing he's hurt you before, right...?"

"M-Matthew... and oui... I guess y-you want to see the scars?"

"And take pictures of them"

Birdie nodded and stood up. He put his arms out and showed the scars on his chest, before turning around and showing the one on his back. Officer Casey's eyes widened, though she said nothing while taking the pictures. I layed down on the couch and Birdie layed down in front of me, pressing back into me as far as he could. My arms wrapped around him, and he hugged one to his chest.

"When did the abuse start?"

"F-four ears ago... b-because I failed a m-math t-test"

"Were you psychologically abused earlier than that?"

"W-well... dad- Arthur n-notices my brother more, a-and forgot who I was a-a lot of the time... so he called me G-Ghost Boy"

"Did anyone try to stop him from hurting you?"

"A-Al didn't... Papa couldn't because h-he was either at work or sleeping whenever A-Arthur hurt me... th-though the one on my b-back was right after supper... Papa... d-didn't get to me in time"

I realised those were the exact same words he said to me when he explained about his back scar.

"It's from an unawesome pot pf boiling water... everything else is from a knife, and Birdie used to have bruises shaped like a hand... but the one on him right now is from me awesomely pushing Birdie out of the way"

"Ah... well, that answers my next question then. So, why did he come after you?"

"W-well, he just came after me..."

"I know"

"O-oh... w-well, Papa is divorcing Arthur, a-and he came to say goodbye..."

"And his goodbye was going to be a cut, I'm guessing?"

"O-oui... hopefully just that..."

"Albino, what happened in there?"

I hugged birdie closer and he flipped around, burying his face in my flour-covered chest. He coughed a bit, but didn't seem to mind. The tears were being soaked up by the flour anyways.

"Birdie told me that his _dad_ was coming, so we hid in the storage room. I hid in some spilled flour, because I figured I would blend in. We heard Francis yell, and then Arthur came into the room. He walked past me and found Birdie. He walked circles around Birdie and said some weird shit, like 'remember you named this knife on your twelfth birthday?' and was going to cut Birdie, but I awesomely used a plastic lid as a shield and pushed Birdie out of the way. I grabbed some flour and threw it in Arthur's face, threw the knife across the room and I was on the ground. I think I got punched, but I'm not sure. That's when you guys awesomely saved our butts"

The policewoman nodded and wrote the shit I just awesomely said in a little notebook. I felt Birdie snuggle closer to me, like he was asking for cuddle treatment. I smiled down at him and kissed him. His body melted and pressed against mine so I could feel every inch of his chest and legs. He knew to keep his vital regions away. I could feel his heart racing, and I'm sure he could feel mine doing the same. When we finally broke apart, Birdie sniffled and shifted down a little so his face could be against my collarbone.

"M-merci, amour... I-I needed that"

"I know, liebe... I think we both needed it"

"And I think you both need a shower... that flour is going to be hard to get off. Anyways, I'm going to go out and see if your dad's pressing charges"

Birdie snuggled closer and coughed a little.

"Sh-she's right... we do need showers"

"And an awesome cuddle session"

"O-oui, that t-to"

"By the way birdie, don't ever, ever make me not protect you"

I looked in his eyes when I said that to make sure he knew I was serious. The thing I left unsaid, that even if he did tell me I'd protect him anyways, was clear. Birdie nodded and snuggled back into my chest.

"P-papa's not going to press charges, I-I think"

"Why?"

"Because he's already going to court to d-divorce Arthur... and y-you can't see it, but I can... it breaks his heart, b-because despite the stuff that Arthur's put us both through... Papa still loves him"

"Ah... how long do you think it's going to be until he awesomely gets over him?"

"I-I don't know... though Papa said h-he found a girl he's interested i-in"

"She better not be British"

"Sh-she isn't, don't worry... a-apparently she's french"

"Ah... kesese, family of frenchies!"

I got a weak smack on the head for that comment, though I could feel Birdie smiling against my skin. We cuddled on the couch for almost an hour before Francis came in the door. He sat down where officer Casey had been, and it looked like he'd been crying. Well duh! The guy had been through so much unawesome shit! I let go of Birdie and he flew into his father's arms, slightly flour-covered (kesese!) and a lot calmer. Francis's ocean blue eyes looked pretty stormy, and that's not a pun. They actually looked stormy.

"Mon anges... I... I am not pressing charges"

"T-told you, Gil"

"Hey, I never said I thought you were unawesomely wrong!"

"You knew, Mattheiu?"

"O-oui... we've had a l-lot happen, and... I guess pressing charges w-would drag this out longer than it h-has to be. Besides, y-you're already divorcing h-him...you don't n-need anything else to do with him"

Birdie was right, both me and Francis could see that. I was a little angry at first when he told me, but... after listening to Mattie it made sense.

"Oui... oui ange, you are right. And, I think it is time for you both to go 'ome now, oui?"

"P-pourquoi?"

"They 'ave to do some police stuff, because Arthur assaulted a cop... and that cop is pressing charges, though the court dates will be after the divorce"

I smirked and I think Birdie did too. At least Catterpillar face was going to jail for something! Francis was right though, it was time for us to go home. Roderich and Lovino should be gone by then, right? We grabbed our shirts and put them on. I decided to wear the Grinch and Pedobear one, because it's totally awesome. Francis gave us $450 for this month and while it was a hell of a lot (in cash... ), it would help with christmas. I didn't know what I was going to get Birdie, but I had some time to decide. If I lived that long, of course. Bruder was probably going to kill me when we got home...


	34. Chapter 34

We took the bus home, mostly because we were lazy and still freaked out. We got off at the stop a couple houses away from ours and walked the rest of the way hand-in-hand. I rubbed the back of Birdie's hand, silently telling him it was going to be okay. I was about to turn the doorknob when it was abruptly opened by bruder. He didn't look happy... oh gott.

"Bruder... where did you go?"

"None of your unawesome business, Ludwig"

"Hmpf"

"You sound like Lovino"

"Want me to close the door on your face? Get in; we have guests who have been looking for you"

"Are they people who are unawesome?"

"It's not Rod and Lovino"

Interested to see who it was, I stepped in the door. It could be Lovino's grandfather, or Mr Fucktardstein. Neither of them would be good... at all. I peeked into the living room to see a pink dress and a blue dress. It was Lilli and Natalya! relieved, I walked back to the front to tell Birdie it was safe. But bruder... was apparently attempting to get the information of where I'd awesomely escaped to out of him. Kesese, stupid bruder!

"Mat. Tell me where you and Gilbert went"

"No"

"Tell"

"Non"

"Now"

"No"

"Mat, I'm getting angrier"

"And you are a-also blocking the way to Gil, s-so please move"

"Not until you tell me where he went"

Birdie dove between bruder's legs. I pulled him up and hugged him, sending a smirk bruder's way before walking to the living room. Mattie's eyes lit up at the sight of Lilli, and I'm pretty sure hers did to. At the most awesome sight of Birdie, not of herself. That would just be weird... Anyways, they hugged and the awesome me totally did not get jealous, what are you saying!? Awesomeness does NOT get jealous, okay? I just had... um... MOVING ON! They sat on the floor while me and Natalya sat on the couch. We watched our respective lovers talk about stuff for a while, before Birdie looked at me. I was zoned out looking at him, because let's face it. Birdie's fucking gorgeous, what is there not to stare at? He chuckled and climbed in the couch in front of me, forcing me to move back so I was squished between him and the piece of furniture.

"Y-you looked kind of lonely..."

Birdie kissed me on the cheek, but I pulled him in for a real kiss. It was as awesome as usual. It appeared that Lilli had gotten the same idea, because she basically copied us. Though, I guess no one else can kiss as awesomely as me and Birdie do, so technically it's not copying. When they were done I shifted Birdie so he was in my lap. He coughed a little and I looked down. I was still covered in flour; I'd completely (but awesomely) forgotten! I smirked and looked back at Birdie. He rolled his eyes and got off of me. I walked to the basement to take a quick shower.

When I came back up (wearing only pj pants) Birdie appeared to be having a serious conversation. He was almost in tears and Lilli was crying. I kneeled in front of the couch and hugged Birdie from the side, hoping it would tell him he could cry. He tugged on my arm a little and I lifted him up, sat on the couch and set him in my lap. I kissed and nuzzled his neck while he continued the conversation.

"Did he ever do anyth-thing after that?"

"No... but... it... sometimes at night, it still hurts..."

"W-well, you do live with Natalya, oui?"

"Yes... that takes away a lot of the pain, and I don't think I would have made it without her..."

"Sunflower, you are strong, da? Strong and beautiful... even without me, I think you would have made it"

Lilli smiled and blushed. She threaded her fingers through Natalya's and the taller girl... blushed a little... the world is coming to an end. The awesome me sent a smile their way and I swear I saw the Belarusian girl smile back for a split second. Now that everyone was okay, I could finally ask the question that had been bugging me.

"Why are you guys awesomely here?"

"Well, after your little stunt, which big sister was watching, she sent us to stay here after the two idiots had left. We stayed overnight, and obviously we are going to stay the rest of the day. We can't go back, because big sister and big sister's wife are having guests over, that we can't be around"

"That sounds kind of unawesomely suspicious..."

"Do you think big sister would really do anything? Has she not told you why she came to Canada?"

"Oh... oh, right. The awesome me remembers now. But... she's been here a long time, hasn't she? Shouldn't the witness protection program be able to just let her go?"

"Nyet, because people will not stop trying to hurt big sister"

"W-where's Ivan?"

"I wish I knew for sure... he's probably at the hamburger eating special boy's house..."

"Oh, speaking of which, Birdie where's Al-fuck going to go?"

"W-we have an aunt th-that lives in the countryside on a farm. Her n-name's Alice, she's Arthur's sister"

"Wait, hamburger inhaling assface is your brother!?"

"Oui... w-we're nothing alike, huh?"

The two girls nodded. Bruder walked in and turned on the TV. I checked the time; it was two in the afternoon. Time for bruder's soap opera. I rolled my eyes and motioned for the couple on the couch to follow me and Birdie to the basement. When they got into the room, they stopped short and stared at the line drawing I'd done. Birdie layed down on the bed and curled up like a cat. I curled around him and looked at the wall drawing. Lilli and Natalya sat on the bed, still looking at the drawing.

"I-it's beautiful..."

"Now just imagine how awesome it's going to look when the awesome me starts painting!"

"You drew this then, da?"

"Ja, but it came from one of Birdie's poems"

I figured Mattie blushed, because he smiled and kissed my hand. I kissed the top of his head and smiled into his hair. The shorter girl layed down on the bed on her stomache and continued looking.

"What are the colours going to be?"

"Ah... brown, silver,copper, red, white, skin colour, purple,yellow, grey, black, blue and dark green... I think that's awesomely it"

"So it is basically a drawing of you and Matvey?"

"Basically"

Birdie stretched a little and Lilli flipped on her back. I pulled Birdie to the right side of the bed and he snuggled up to my body, obviously happy that he was in my (now clean) arms. Natalya and her lover layed on the other side and all of us had awesome cuddle time. Bruder called us up for dinner a couple awesome hours later. We walked up the stairs and there were two really big bowls of soup, with two spoons in them. We carried our food back to the basement and just ate down there. Birdie had an interesting question after we were done, though.

"S-so... um, who's going to sleep where?"

Natalya stopped to think. Her face pulled into a frown, quite different from the relaxed expression she'd had a second ago.

"Well... Lilli gets cold very easily, which is not good, da? So usually she sleeps with me. I don't want the German bastard anywhere near her, though... I don't trust him"

"Neither do we... and we live with the unawesome guy"

"We could just sleep on the same bed then, right Nat? Like a big giant sleepover!"

I looked at Birdie and he shrugged. I kissed him quickly and smiled at the two.

"Alright, that's fine with the awesome us. We don't move much, so you won't be unawesomely kicked off the bed or anything"

"W-wait... Gil, aren't I supposed t-to sleep up w-with Ludwig?"

"You are staying down here, da?" She said it as a question, but the correct answer was clear.

Birdie nodded and breathed a little sigh of relief. I chuckled and kissed his neck. We decided to go upstairs and play on the Wii. We played the dancing game, and yet again, Birdie made me cross my legs. I'm pretty sure he knew what he was doing too... I think he awesomely smirked at me...

Anyways, Lilli was also a really good dancer, though she didn't do the same thing Birdie did. Her girlfriend did... okay, but it was obvious she was not a dancer. She got a kiss as a reward anyways. I only fell twice in a very difficult dance, and Birdie only laughed the second time. I did yell a random German word when I fell though... I don't know why. Bruder yelled at us for making too much noise. But, none of us cared. Though, the smirk on his face said he had something planned. I could feel butterflies in my stomache, and not the awesome kind... When we were all getting ready for bed, bruder called me and Birdie upstairs. Lilli and Natalya followed, stopping just out of sight of bruder. He sat us down on the couch and had a gleam in his eyes that was like the evil stepmother from Cinderella... combined with the fucking cat. I hate that cat...

"Bruder, I have noticed that you've been getting more... bold as of late. Quite a change for someone who's situation isn't exactly great, ja?"

I didn't talk, and neither did Birdie. I grabbed Mattie's hand and squeezed it, feeling him squeeze faintly back. I had an idea where this was going, but for the first time I hoped I was unawesomely paranoid. Bruder continued and what he said next shocked the awesome me and Birdie.

"Bruder. Mat is to leave right now. And I am telling Roderich about you two"

The damned evil smirk was all we needed to know he wasn't fucking around.

(AN:I will be ending this soon, because it can't go on forever, da? Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, even if only once. You are all awesome in the eyes of this authoress *heart*)


	35. Chapter 35

I couldn't believe what bruder had just said. Why would he suddenly just dump that shit on us!? It didn't make any sense to the awesome me.

"But bruder-"

"No buts. We are fine with money right now, and-"

"F-Feli broke up with you, didn't he"

Both me and Ludwig turned our heads in shock. The dumbass German ickey-pant's mouth was hanging open like a fish.

"I-Ivan broke up with my brother... a-and Lovi called me on Friday night to tell me that Ivan and Feli are together now"

...Well, that was a shocking turn of events. How... what did they have in common? Besides smiling all the time... neh, though that unawesomely confused me more, it at least explained why Bruder was acting like such an ass. If I had a sword...

"That's it. Mat, you are to go right now!"

Birdie stood up and glared.

"Fine. But, remember that it's your own fault Feli broke up with you. Maybe someday, when you're not a complete asshole to everyone, you can win him back. But by then... it just might be too late"

With that Birdie walked upstairs and got his stuff. I followed, my face scrunched up in confusion. All this was giving me a headache. Birdie sat on Ludwig's bed and put his head in his hands. I hugged him and he cried his brains out. I sighed. Why did people have to suck so much? Sometimes, I wished there was only awesome people on the earth so the awesome me wouldn't have to deal with all the unawesomeness around me. Then, I could be the king of awesome and rename everything Prussia! When Birdie lifted his head again, he answered one of the many questions I had.

"L-Ludwig forgot their anniversary... for the sixth month in a row. F-Feli just got tired of it and left him...I-Ivan was tired of my brother b-being an idiot so he left him... Gil, I thought there was something there for Ludwig a-and Feli... I guess I need more training from Papa"

"Birdie, shit happens with love. We even reminded bruder about their anniversary, and he wasn't awesome enough to remember! Feli... now that the awesome me thinks about it, he could probably be happy with Vodka-face"

"O-oui... you're right... so, I guess I'm going back to Papa's r-restaurant?"

"Ja... that's the best place for you to go.. and since bruder is telling his friends... the only awesome time we can meet is at lunch, in the bathroom again... it's the safest place now... The awesome me will walk you to Francis's, you want to awesomely call him first?"

"Oui..."

I got Birdie the phone and he called his father. There were many sobs coming from both ends, but finally they calmed down and Birdie said something in french. Francis's voice got a little life, and Birdie handed me the phone.

"Hallo, Francis"

"B-bonjour, mon ange... So, you et Mattheiu are still together, oui?"

"Ja. Nothing will ever split us apart, especially not something like this! The awesome me is staying with mein awesome vogel, no matter what!"

"Ah... ah, that is bon... mon ange told me everything that 'appened... Gilbert, keep the money, but keep it away from Ludwig. Can you do it?"

"ja, of course I can! So... is Gilbird going to have to go with Mattie?"

There was a frightened cheep from the top of my head. I reached up and stroked the sun-yellow feathers, while the silence from Francis was all the confirmation I needed.

"We'll be walking there, so I don't know how long it's gonna take"

"I will meet you 'alfway"

"Okay... see ya then, Francis"

"Oui... au revoir"

We hung up and Birdie was crying again. I hugged him, making sure his head was on my shoulder. That seemed like his safe spot. Then again, my arms were his safe spot also... When Birdie stopped crying enough to lift his head we got the boxes ready and grabbed Gilbird's cage. With a sad peep and a tear from the awesome little bird and his awesome big friend, we walked outside. The walk to the halfway point was spent in silence, as both of us were too sad to awesomely say anything. When Francis came into view, we just stopped and waited for him. Wordlessly, he hugged each of us. Birdie took off his cross, which scared me...

"Gil, s-since we have to be a-apart, can we switch crosses?"

"Oh.. ja, that's a pretty awesome idea Birdie!"

We swapped crosses and stared at each other for a few seconds before one of us tackle-hugged the other. We said we loved each other in about five different languages and kissed about three times. Eventually we had to let go though.

"Birdie... meet in the bathroom, ja? And don't tell anyone where we are"

"I-I won't... not even Ms Braginskaya... I-I should probably go now..."

I nodded and hugged Birdie one last time before he gathered his stuff and we said goodbye. I blew a kiss to him and Gilbird; I would miss them a hell of a lot. Well, no shit! Gilbird was awesome, and Birdie was so awesome he was beyond awesome! On the walk back, I met up with the girls who still had to stay at the house. Lilli was crying, and though the awesome me tried to hold it in I was too. Just... it sucked major, pulsating, blue golfball-sized balls that Birdie had to leave, and the only time the awesome him would be seeing me was at lunch... he wouldn't even be at breakfast club!

When we got back in the house, the most unawesome person on earth was laying on the couch. I totally ignored him when he tried to talk to me and just went downstairs, the two frauleins following me. We just went right to sleep, not even bothering to turn on the light to find our way to the bed. We just kind of fell in and went under the blanket.

When my eyes opened again, there was wind on my face. I knew Birdie was in my arms, and he was smiling. There was something sort of heavy on my back that was beating away, and that's when it clicked: this was the drawing! I looked at Birdie and he winked, making me blush. We were almost at the top of the hole when something slammed into my side. I almost dropped Birdie, but caught him at the last moment. I looked to see a weird mix of Ludwig and Arthur and Roderich, as a... demon-type thing, smirking and cackling. It.. it? Whatever. It slammed into me again, and this time I did drop Birdie. Not caring that there was a demon on my tail, I flew down after Birdie. His eyes were huge and he was screaming for help. When I was almost there, darkness enveloped him... Birdie was gone! A voice at my ear whispered 'I thought you'd never let me fall...' just as cold metal went through my chest.

"BIRDIE NEEEEEEIIIIIIN!"

I jolted up, screaming at the top of my lungs. I was drenched in sweat and I felt cold. Suddenly there was lights on and Natalya and Lilli were looking at me in concern. With my eyes wide, I flopped back onto the bed and grabbed a pillow, hugging it to my chest. I felt skinny arms wrap around my shoulders and side. I turned my head slightly to see the Liechtensteinian girl looking at me with utter fear.

"Gilbert, are you okay?"

"Ja... nein..."

"Did you have a nightmare?"

"Ja"

Natalya's voice came from the lightswitch's general direction.

"You should probably go have a shower, da? You're all sweaty"

I nodded and the smaller girl let go of me. I got up, went to my dresser, got a new pair of pj pants and walked to the bathroom. I took a long shower to try and calm down, but I just couldn't take Birdie not being there. Stupid fucking bruder! If he hadn't decided to be an ass, this wouldn't have happened! I don't care if he was heartbroken, this was all fucking his fault and I wasn't talking to him ever again. Not until he fucking let Birdie back in the house and appologised for every fucking thing he's done wrong to the awesome me.

I towel-dried myself, got dressed and walked back to the bedroom. Well, there was no way I was sleeping now. I looked at the line drawing on the wall and decided that if I couldn't have Birdie with me, his iron cross and portrait were the next best thing. I realised that I had all the colours necessary to paint him, so I ran upstairs to get my art supplies of awesomeness. Bruder was still on the couch. He turned his head to look at me, then immediately looked away. That's right, unawesome asshole. Look away from the utter awesomeness that is your bruder! I walked to the cupboard and grabbed the tubes of paint, along with a beer-mug of water and my paintbrushes. As I was walking to the stairs jerkface penishead had the nerve to speak to the awesome me.

"I guess you're painting how much of a dick I am, bruder?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I just gave him the finger and walked downstairs. Lilli's eyes lit up as soon as she saw me and the items of awesomeness. I grabbed a pencil and wrote the brands of paint and the exact colours on the ceiling, like I'd done with every other painting I'd done. I circled this one to remind myself that it was of utmost and awesome importance. I set the beer mug down on the ground and turned to the two frauleins, paintbrush in hand.

"The awesome me isn't going to be able to sleep tonight... so I'm just going to awesomely work on this. You can go to sleep"

"Nyet, we are staying up. We must protect you if Ludwig tries anything"

"I awesomely doubt he will. He's in his mopey stage... by the way, did he call anyone?"

"Da, he called someone and told about you and Matvey... that is not good, da?"

"Ja... that is very unawesome... fick mich. Well, let's just hope Birdie doesn't get hurt... the awesome me definitely will"

"They're going to beat you up? But Gilbert, you don't deserve that! Matthew's told us all about how... how wonderful and special you've been to him!"

"Lilli... you are a lot like Mattie, but... this is just the way it goes"

"But why? Why do they pick on you, you never did anything wrong!"

"Ja, the awesome me knows... and they pick on me because I didn't want to join their group of bullies... and the rumour a couple years ago, remember that?"

"Oh... yes, I remember that... that's why Nat hates El- she devil..."

"Kesese, I call her the same thing!"

"Well, that is what she is, da?"

"Ja! She and Ludwig are the most unawesome frauleins on this planet, kesesese!"

I set to work painting. I started with Birdie's eyes first, paying special attention to making them the colour they would be in real life, which is a deep purple that has an awesome jewel-like look to it. I did the rest of his face next, and I have to say it looked almost identical to the real thing... though the real thing was a hell of a lot warmer. His hair and the curl was painted next, and then his sweater and jeans and shoes.

I mixed some of the black and white together to get my hair colour and started on my own face. I had to add a lot of white to the skin coloured paint to make it look like me. I did my eyes next, the way Birdie said he sees them. They were dark ruby. I didn't have the right colour of gold or silver or copper for my pants and wings, so I left them for now. I painted my chest and all the exposed skin last, and that was all I could do right then. I sat on the bed and looked at my awesome work, looking in particular at Birdie. I had done a damned good job!

"That is... exceptional. Big sister wasn't kidding when she said you have skill in painting"

"It looks so real! Like Matthew and you are going to pop out of the wall!"

"Kesese, that's what the awesome me was aiming for!"

"It will look amazing when it is finished.. big sister will want to see it, da?"

"Ja! Maybe it'll count for one of the projects, kesese!"

I looked at the clock and it was four in the morning. Tired out from all the painting and the precision it took to do that, I crawled back under the covers.

"Going to bed, bruder?"

I opened a light red eye and saw Ludwig leaning against the side of the door. He walked in and stopped short as soon as he saw the painting. His mouth hung open like a fish of unawesomeness again as he looked from the painting to me and back again.

"What do _you_ want, Ludwig? I believe you have caused enough trouble, da?"

Bruder couldn't utter a word, but realisation of what a big mistake he unawesomely made flashed in his icey blue eyes. Well, it's about time, dumbass!


	36. Chapter 36

I sat up in bed and looked at Ludwig. Either he was playing with glitter again (funny story) or he was crying... which was very un-Ludwig like. He rarely ever only time that comes to the awesome me's mind is at Grandvatti's funeral, but everyone was crying. That was a pretty unawesome day...

Ludwig shook his head and picked his jaw up from the floor. He couldn't meet my gaze. Out the corner of my awesome eye I saw Natalya holding Lilli close and glaring. I had a feeling the taller chick didn't need to be so protective... Ludwig wasn't going to do anything. The awesome me was sure of it. He looked too depressed... though the awesome me didn't know why. He'd done so much to hurt me in the past, and didn't give a flying fuck! Sighing, I decided to be the bigger man (figuratively speaking... stupid Ludwig and his height...) and invite the emotionally confused guy in.

"Bruder, you can come into the room of awesomeness if you want"

"Y-you're speaking to me? But.. I thought you'd be too mad... I kicked your boyfriend out!"

I winced, at the sudden twinge of pain I felt in my heart. I took off Birdie's cross and held it to my heart of awesomeness, hoping that would calm it down. It only made me long for Birdie more... ugh. Stupid loneliness! I mean... it was... Ludwig's unawesome presence that was making me... uh... fuck it. I missed Birdie a hell of a lot, okay?! He was just... so awesome and loveable and adorable and cute and- the awesome me is going to cry if I keep going.

"Ja, well someone has to be a good bruder- uh, someone has to be awesome around here"

"Nein... you're right bruder... I haven't been... really, I haven't been a bruder to you at all..."

The blue-eyed teen walked in and sat on the bed. I wrapped the blanket around my cold shoulders and left some for the shivering Girls. They huddled close and the awesome us shared body heat. Luddy looked at the painting and wiped a few tears. I sighed. I didn't want to forgive him at all. He ripped Birdie, _my_ Birdie away from me, and the only two reminders I had of mein awesome liebling were against my heart and on the wall. He had helped bully me for three years. There was no reason on earth or above or in space why I should forgive him. But his whole body was slumped over, as if he couldn't hold his own weight anymore. It wouldn't surprise me, honestly. He had so much muscle his muscles probably got tired of carrying each other!

"Gilbert, you painted this... in the last few hours?"

"Ja... touch it and you won't have a hand anymore. It's still drying"

"Ah..."

Ludwig turned to face me, but he still couldn't look me in the eye.

"Bruder... I... I- I'm... sorry"

My eyes widened so they probably looked like a surprised anime character. Had... had bruder, the same bruder who beat me, took my lunch money, laughed at me, the pretended nothing happened... had he just appologised? His eyes lifted from the sheets and looked at my shocked face.

"I'm sorry for everything... everything. First and foremost, for kicking Mat out... and... for every single punch and kick I didn't block from you over the years... I've always told mself that you could get up and stop us, you were just weak... but... I just realised that you couldn't... you've probably tried, haven't you?"

I couldn't say a word, but the fact that I wasn't wiping my tears said everything for me. Bruder... had just appologised for everything. Everything! He sighed and continued.

"Judging from the fact that you can't say anything at the moment, I'm taking that as a ja. Bruder... I will try to be a better bruder... though I don't know what to do..."

"Stop them"

Natalya's voice made us turn our heads in shock. She shifted Lilli in her lap, who was asleep... poor fraulein.

"You have the power to stop them. So stop blaming other people, and just separate yourself from them. What's the worst Roderich could do? I bet he can't even punch! I could knock the special boy out! Hell, Lilli could knock the special boy out!"

"It's not that simple..."

"Why. Why isn't it that simple, Ludwig?"

"It just... it just isn't"

"Great answer there, Ludwig"

"Nnh... Nat, b-be a little nicer... he appologised, right?"

"Da, but ugh! This pisses me off"

"How do you think the awesomeme feels?"

Ludwig frowned and looked away again.

"We should probably get some sleep... goodnight, bruder.."

He got up to leave, but something pulled my awesome heart.

"Luddy, wait! Sleep here... there's enough room on the bed..."

Bruder turned back to me with questions, the most prominent being 'Does he awesomely forgive me?'. I sighed and shook my head slightly. I wasn't ready to go that far yet, but I was willing to awesomely recover our family relationship thing. Bruder nodded his head and walked back.

"Okay, ah... the awesome me will be like a wall, Lilli and Natalya sleep on one side of the wall of awesomeness and Luddy sleep on the other"

The three nodded and the awesome me got in the middle of the bed. They layed down on the designated spots and I put the blanket over us. Ja, it was a little weird, but it was a lot warmer... though I could have done with something awesome in my arms...

When I woke up, everyone was already out of bed. I smelled something that was pretty awesome, and I realised someone must be cooking., That was strange, but awesome. Usually I didn't get breakfast. I searched around for Birdie's cross and found it under the pillow. I kissed the black front and reattached it around my neck. I stumbled my way up the stairs and awesomely walked into the kitchen, where there was... grilled cheese sandwiches! The awesome me laughed in excitement, though it sounded more like someone was strangling a cat that was choking on a fish.

Natalya and Lilli were nowhere to be found, so I guessed they had already left. It would make sense, considering they didn't live here. And rumours would fly if they walked to school with us. That was the last thing the awesome me needed... I sat down at the table and waited to be served, because I was awesome. Luddy put the ketchup on the table and put a whole stack of the awesome food there too. The awesome me grabbed two and dumped some ketchup on them and ate them without a plate. It was a sandwich sandwich, kesesese! Bruder ate a little more... Luddy-ish, with manners. Psht! Manners aren't meant to be used at home, unless someone important or some shit like that is here.

When we were done we went to our rooms and changed. I expected a fucking massive beatdown today, so I put on as many layers as I could. I was wearing all my long-sleeved shirts, three t-shirts over them and two sweaters... I was overheating like fuck. I walked up the stairs and found myself roughly shoved out of the door as soon as I had my bag on. I guessed some things wouldn't change... fuck. On the walk there I quickly kissed the cross again, refreshing my awesome memory of Birdie. As soon as we were there, I saw Fucktard and Pizzaboy standing there, and they looked pissed. Lovino had a very good reason, and that spelled pure unawesomeness for the awesome me... Roderich was so angry his face was red. Red like my eyes. Which was kind of awesomely funny, since he made fun of me for them.

"So... you have been hiding a person from us for how long now? Two weeks?"

I refused to answer. I was not giving him any information about Birdie! I would not put mein aweome liebe in danger like that.

"Hmpf. Still not talking. I'm beginning to wonder if you ever talk... hm. Once we find this person, we will have to ask them, won't we Lovino?"

"Damned right. Now bastard, how about we make this easy: you lay on the ground, and I'll beat you until you can't see straight. Sound nice? I fucking hope so, asshole-muching fuckfaced dumbass!"

... I blacked out halfway through the beating. I remember Someone coming and I vaguely remember being lifted, but that was it. I fought against the blackness, my only concern being awake enough to see Birdie if he was there. As my vision cleared, I blinked a few times and saw a blond head of hair. But it wasn't Birdie or even Francis. It was Joanne... oh thank gott! I blinked a few times and felt something wet on my forehead.

"J-Joanne?"

"GILBERT! Oh mon dieu, Gilbert!"

She hugged me and I could tell she was crying.

"Is anything broken, can you move everything?"

"Let the awesome me stand up and we'll see"

She got off of me and I stood up. My ribs hurt and I had a headache, but I could walk... sort of. My legs hurt too... but thank awesomeness nothing was broken. As I moved around everything slowly stopped hurting like I was dying and I could jog a little. I looked down and saw that my entire torso, shoulders and my arms down to my elbows were wrapped. Confused, I turned back to the woman who was breathing sighs of relief. I sat down on the couch thing I'd been on and looked at her.

"Joanne... what... what happened? The awesome me can't remember..."

She shifted on the chair she was sitting on and looked at me.

"Well... Lovino started punching and kicking like you just stole something of his... when you stopped moving I ran out and got them away for long enough to carry you back in here... I was just about to call an ambulance when you woke up..."

I hugged the girl and she hugged back, being careful of my wrapped areas. She pulled back suddenly and looked at me with fear.

"Where's Matthieu?"

"Bruder told about us... so he's hiding out somewhere. We're meeting up in my bathroom at lunch... he is not going to be awesomely happy about this... hah, I just hope he doesn't awesomely punch someone out... though that would be really funny"

"Oui... are you okay to go to class?"

"Ja... the awesome me thinks so... how late is it?"

"School started a period ago"

"Damnit! Ah... stupid science... did you awesomely grab my backpack too?"

"Oui, it's right beside you... you were using it as a pillow. Your shirt are on this chair"

I got redressed, grabbed my backpack and hugged the frenchie goodbye. She was worthy of being called awesome by the awesome me. I walked into class and everyone averted their eyes, even the teacher. I frowned and sat in my seat near the front. Class went on normally, which worried the awesome me. Shouldn't I have gotten a detention or something? Or... was everyone even more afraid of me than before? This was not awesome.

As soon as the bell rang I sprinted out of class. I almost fell down the stairs a few times, but I made it to the bathroom a few minutes ahead of Birdie. He walked in, eyes full of tears and hugged me... right where I was wrapped up. He pulled back and looked at me in shock because of the small noise I'd made.

"G-Gil...?"

He was asking why that hurt. I took off every layer of shirts/sweaters I had on and revealed my wrapped torso and shoulders and arms. I looked at Birdie and he was shaking. His eyes were a dark, violent purple... he looked like he could kill someone.

"They are so fucking d-dead..."

Told you.


	37. Chapter 37

I looked at myself in the mirror. Ja, it looked pretty bad, which kinda pissed me off... but what pissed me off more was that Lovino actually made me pass out. I sighed and looked back at mein liebe with light eyes, like thinned blood. I took his hands and pulled him closer to me, determined to find a way to hug him. He got my drift and wrapped his arms around my lower back. It didn't hurt there, surprisingly enough. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and smiled down at him.

"There we awesomely go... Birdie, the awesome me missed you a lot"

"I-I missed you too... w-what happened after I left?"

"Well, I had a nightma-"

Birdie immediately jumped up on the counter and sat down. I sat beside him and pulled him in my lap, looking down at him with a slight frown.

"T-tell me what happened"

I winced and took a deep breath. It was... pretty bad. And if you don't think so, you're not in love with Birdie so the awesome me doesn't care. It was fucking scary to me.

"You know in the drawing how I'm awesomely carrying you to the top of the hole thing?"

"Oui"

"Well, we were almost there when a demon-type-thingamajiggy slammed into me that looked like Ludwig, Arthur and Roderich mixed into one... the first time I almost dropped you, but the second time... I did drop you. I flew down to try and awesomely catch you, but when I was almost there... you were gone. I heard your voice at my ear saying you thought I'd never let you fall, and I guess I got stabbed. That's when I woke up"

Suddenly, Birdie hugged me so hard I almost fell onto the sink... that probably wouldn't have been good for my injuries. I hugged back and the wheat-coloured hair of Mattie became a pillow for me to cry on. I felt wetness against my neck and now we were both crying. I lifted my head and wiped Birdie's tears, making him smile a little.

"Y-you're the one who's hurt and y-you're still taking care o-of me..."

"Of course Birdie... the awesome me will always take care of the awesome you... even if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to make you happy"

This time Birdie's tears were that of awesome joy at the piece of poetical shit I'd just said. Though, it was true. I realised we had each other's cross on still and I reached to undo Birdie's from my neck. But Birdie stopped me.

"N-non, l-leave it on... w-we'll wear each others"

I looked at the inscription and smiled. Maybe Ms Braginskaya had them mixed up... or maybe not. Either way, together we were awesomely happy and awesomely loved, so I didn't think it mattered anymore who wore what cross. I cupped Birdie's face with one hand and wrapped the other around his lower back. Smiling, he kissed me. I kissed back immediately, shifting him so I could get more of his lips. he stopped himself four times from pressing against me, because a cry of pain in the middle of a kiss wasn't exactly awesome. When we broke apart, Birdie smiled softly.

"Gil... y-you should probably put your shirt... shirts o-on again, oui?"

"Hm... actually, Birdie do you have the wrapping bandages stuff with you by any chance?"

"Oui, I always carry two rolls of it, a-and tape... pourquoi?"

"I wanna see just how bad it unawesomely is"

Birdie nodded and jumped off me. We unwrapped me, and Birdie was wincing a lot. Which worried the awesome me. A few of them hurt when the cold air hit them, but I guessed that was to be expected. They were fresh, after all.

When all the bandages were off, I jumped off the counter and looked at the damage. I had cuts about the same size and depth as last time I got my ass beaten like that, but there was a hell of a lot more of them. Birdie walked around me and counted twenty five, and said all of them would scar... actually, I wondered how I was walking. Last time I couldn't for a day... but then again, I had also been beaten with a textbook that time... agh. Not awesome at all. We spent about ten minutes rewrapping me, then I sat in my corner on the counter. Birdie frowned and looked at me.

"Gil... w-we can't cuddle, remember?"

"The awesome me is going to find a way!"

"M-move"

I did as I was told and Birdie sat in my corner. He pulled me back so my back was to his chest and he sighed in happiness.

"Th-there we go... hah, I-I get to do this to you now..."

"Ja, it's almost like we've flipped awesome roles now, kese- owwww! Note to awesome self, don't laugh. It huuuuuuurts!"

"N-note taken"

"You're me? What sorcery is this!?"

"The sorcery o-of maple and pancakes"

"Mmm... that's yummy and awesome sorcery"

"Oui... though I wish it could do something c-cool, like kill certain damned people whose names start with L, R and L again"

"Actually, Birdie, Luddy awesomely appologised after he saw the painting"

"R-really? That's a surprise... and when did you start painting it?"

"Last night, after the unawesome nightmare. Uh, Birdie... my back's starting to hurt, can the awesome me sit up?"

"O-oui, of course... not a comfortable p-position when I'm not leaning on you?"

"What can I say, I'm bigger than you!"

"O-oui, I know... y-you should probably put back on some shirts"

I chuckled then held my ribs because I forgot they still hurt. There was quite a few cuts there, and possibly a bruised rib. Which wasn't bad enough to go to the hospital, but the awesome Birdie wouldn't be able to lean on it for a while... damn them! They hurt me so badly me and Mattie couldn't have proper cuddle time! Not awesome at all... I thought Luddy said he was going to try to be a better bruder... Huh. I guess we can add 'liar' to his list of unawesome things.

I put back on three of the long sleeves and a t-shirt over that, stuffing the rest in my bag. The awesome me hopped back up on the counter and looked at Birdie, who wrapped his arms around mine and leaned his head on my shoulder. There was just a small cut there, so it was awesomely okay. I pulled him down on my lap because I thought he'd be more comfortable that way. Birdie looked up at me and stroked my cheek... and you have no idea how comforting it was. The awesome me was still in a lot of pain... the running I did was definitely not good for me.

"Gil... y-you really are amazing, you know that?"

"How so? I mean, I know I'm awesome, I'm carrying the torch for mein awesome Prussian ancestors, but why this time?"

"Because you're here with me, e-even though it probably hurts... physically"

"I guess you're my medicinal pot then, kese- OWW! Birdie, the awesome me needs to not laugh... it hurts"

"A-are your ribs broken?"

"Nein, obviously not... but one of them is bruised"

"Wow... L-Lovino held back then"

"Really!? I look like a mummy again, and this time he didn't use a textbook and it's worse then last time! How can that be holding back!?"

"B-because if he didn't hold back... chances are he... ah, y-you'd be in the hospital"

"Oh... then the awesome me will shut up about that"

"You d-don't have to... he did do a lot of damage"

That was an understatement. I had a thought that was pretty awesome, though... maybe a little reckless. Ah, whatever. The awesome us was too awesome to be reckless!

"Birdie?"

"Oui?"

"Since Rod-up-the-ass knows about you -I'm sure Ludwig gave him the full description- we can... awesomely go to class holding hands?"

Birdie chuckled and moved a little closer. I rubbed circles in his cheek with my thumb and he nodded. I grinned and Birdie kissed the back of my hand. We basically sat like that for the rest of lunch, kissing each other's hands and neck and just looking at each other. Yeah, it sounds unawesomely girly, but the awesome me doesn't care. When the bell wrang, we jumped off the counter and grabbed our backpacks. We walked out of the bathroom together and in plain view of everyone, Birdie grabbed my hand. He squeezed it tight; I guess he was a little scared. This was our first public announcement of our liebe, after all.

Roder-ick was walking down the hallway. He smirked at us, then his face went pale. I looked at Birdie... and he was giving the worst death-glare I've ever seen. Even I had to look away! The fucktard practically ran away after that, and Birdie smirked. I kissed his cheek and he blushed, returning the awesomeness with a kiss to my neck. I swear a group of girls went 'awwwwww' when they saw that. They were just jealous that the awesome us could get boy-wait, that doesn't make sense... ah, ignore that. We walked into art class and Ms Braginskaya immediately pulled us to her desk. She looked at us worriedly... is that a word? Meh.

"Matvey, Gilbert... Did... did you walk to class like that?"

"O-oui... Ludwig told Roderich about u-us, so we figured since the c-cat's out of the bag we can show affection publicly"

"Ah... and Gilbert... I saw what happened this morning... are you sure you're okay to stay for class?"

"I'm not leaving Birdie"

"Even if it's for your own health?"

"Not leaving him, Ms Braginskaya... besides, I'm all wrapped up"

I lifted my shirt slightly to reveal white bandages covering that area. The Ukrainian teacher nodded and sent us to our desk. We got out our art stuff and worked on the next project, which was awesome painting of people. I walked up to the front and smirked.

"Ms Braginskaya, you remember that sketch I showed you?"

"The one of you and Matvey?"

"Ja"

"Da, I remember"

"Since that's basically what this project is, can the awesome me 'hand it in' for marks?"

The teacher fought a smile, but eventually gave in to it and nodded. I smirked and walked back to the desk, where Birdie appeared to be having a little trouble deciding what to paint. I rubbed his back and looked at his ideas. One was a girl on a swing, but that was a little too complicated for him. The other was basically him with a maple leaf, but I thought he could do better.

"Birdie, why don't you paint your father making food?"

His medium-purple irises widened and he thought about it for a second. He did a quick sketch, writing down all the colours and shades. I closed my eyes and I could see the picture... it was pretty awesome! He went up to show Ms Braginskaya, and she showed him areas that might be problematic for him. The face would be an issue, so she said the awesome me could help, but she'd have to reduce his mark if I did. Not by much, of course, but she needed to be fair.

After art we walked to history and Mr Zwingli had a similar talk with us about the hand holding. After we'd explained, he just nodded and we went to our seats. We were learning about WW2, which was kind of boring. but the awesome me payed attention, because it was important to the awesome me. After school was over we went back to the art room to decide our next move. Roderich had seen us, but Birdie had death-glared him so bad I didn't know if he'd even try anything. All three of us (Ms Braginskaya included) sat on desks and talked it over.

"Birdie, how about we go out different spots of the school... that way the awesome you can catch a bus or something, and well... if the awesome me get's caught, then I get caught. nothing we can do about it"

"Oui... Gil, I-I wish you didn't have to get hurt... i-it hurts me too"

"I know Birdie, trust me... your eyes don't lie. But we should probably get going, I don't know if Francis is going to worry or not"

"Oui... je t'aime"

"Ich liebe dich ach vogel... be safe"

We kissed one last time, then exited the room. I was almost at the doors to go outside when I felt someone grab me from behind.

"Surprise, bastardo"

...If Lovino had me, then where was Ludwi- BIRDIE! SHIT!

(AN: Next chapter will be the last one... though I can write a Christmas chapter and post it if you guys want me to though. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, you guys are even more awesome than Mattie and Gilbert combined and multiplied by three!)


	38. Chapter 38

"BIRDIE NEIN!"

I thrashed and kicked against Lovino to try to get him to let go. I somehow threw him off me and almost smashed my head into the door in my rush to get outside. I left my backpack in the hallway, where Lovino was just getting up. And he did not look pleased. But then again, no one is pleased when a victim gets away. Or maybe he hit his thick skull on the lockers... I don't know.

I ran outside, expecting to see Birdie and Roderich and my stupid unawesome bruder standing right there. But they weren't. I felt the panic seep through me and it was like time slowed. Time! Stop being unawesome! The awesome me needs to save Birdie, because there's no telling what could happen!

I ran through the schoolyard and around the school twice, but had to stop because my ribs were hurting like a bitch. I fell to my knees and clutched them, gasping. I heard running behind me, and before I knew it my face was becoming close friends with the one and a half-foot deep snow. There was yelling in Italian from behind me, so I guessed Lovino finally caught up to me. I looked at the school to see... Ludwig with his hands on Birdie... HE WAS SO FUCKING DEAD!

"Finally, bastardos! This little bitch tried getting away, while you two were fucking around!"

"Lovino, please don't lose your temper... yet. We still have to deal with them"

Roderich's voice cut through the cold air (and my ears) like a knife. Hm... a rusty knife, that had disinfecting shit on it so it hurt even more. He stepped out from behind Ludwig and the struggling Birdie, smirking at me in my unawesome state. He kicked snow in my face, and stepped on my hand when I tried to wipe the snow off. I could see his smirk had grown by a lot, so it looked like it would split his face. I really hoped it would.

"Well, hello there, Ghost Boy! Nice to see you again, isn't it? I see you're hurting a little from last punishment... hm. You won't be able to fight back then... excellent. Of course, it was all in my plan. So, you really thought you could hide someone from us, under your bruder's nose, even?"

"He's not my bruder, just someone I live with" I growled. Roderich bent and wiped the snow off my face so he could took at me properly.

"Oh? Well, either way, you lost. Again. Do you see how much simpler everything would have been if you'd just joined us like your bruder did?"

I refused to answer, on grounds that what I was about to say probably would have made me get my ribs broken. And the last thing I needed was for Lovino to find the one that was bruised. I was pulled up on my feet and held in a similar fashion to the way _Ludwig_ was holding Birdie.

I had only seen Birdie pissed a few times, so when I looked over at him in desperation I was shocked. His entire body was shaking with anger, but he stayed there like it was the most natural thing in the world. His eyes were a dark, dark purple and they almost looked like they'd caught fire... and the glare he was giving the unawesome demon in front of me made a shiver go down my spine. He-devil also looked, and his eyes widened in fear. Immediately he got behind the Italian and I switched hands. Lovino looked at Roderich like he wasn't sure what to do. Hesitation... that was something you didn't see every day from him. Usually it was punch first, ask questions late- nein, usually it was just punch.

Circus Clown gave a silent command and his 'follower' raised his fist. Birdie's glare softened, and his eyes became pleading. Though, deep down, I saw he knew Lovino wouldn't hit him... they were best friends. Lovino lowered his fist and looked at the unawesome buttmuncher behind me.

"I'm not going to hit him"

"WHAT!? Hit him, already! This is Demon Eyes's punishment!"

"No. I will not hit my best friend! The only reason I was ever your friend was because I... I let myself go. So potato bastard, if you don't let Matteo go you will not be able to make babies or even take a piss. Because your dick won't be there"

Ludwig let go of Birdie, and the best friends smiled and nodded. Birdie cracked his knuckles and looked at The guy behind me with a glare even more intense than before.

"Let. Him. Go"

"N-nein...?"

"I'll repeat myself, since you seem not able to understand. Let. Him. Go!"

Roderich did let go of me, only to capture Birdie in the same position. Mattie sighed and elbowed Roderich in the face, then backed up a few steps and kicked him in the ribs, hard enough to make him fall down. Butnot hard enough for something to be broken... even though he was pissed beyond all recognition, he wouldn't do that to someone. Birdie stepped on him and bounced a few times before getting off and crouching down to his level.

"So... you are going to leave Gil alone n-now, oui?"

"Why should I?"

"Because if you d-don't, I will get a hockey stick and the emergency room will become your best friend. Got it?"

The unawesome dick on the ground got up and raised his fists, like he was going to punch Birdie. Aristocratic fucktard did punch Birdie... but it did nothing... waitwaitwaitwait. So... he actually had no fighting ability whatsoever? Confused, I walked up and gently led Birdie to the side, and offered myself up. Roderich punched me, but it didn't hurt at all.

"So... you were really just getting bruder and Lovino to do your unawesomely dirty work..."

"What the fuck!? Glasses bastard, you said you've been in tons of fights, and you won against a fucking mafia member!"

"Ja... and you said you were training to be in the UFC..." Ludwig's ice-blue eyes narrowed. "You lied"

"Damned BASTARDO!"

Lovino was punching Roderich when we heard a scream and the voice of a banshee. I only had enough time to register it was Elizaveta when she was tackled by something blue and white. They rolled for a little bit, before the blue and white thing ended up on top with a metal object... wait, is that- FUCK YES! GO NATALYA! Birdie pulled his friend off of Roderich and crouched down again.

"Now w-will you leave him alone?"

"Yes, now go away!"

it took a few minutes for that to sink in. He... he wouldn't be hurting-well, ordering other unawesome people to beat me up... me and Birdie didn't have to hide anymore... there were tears in my eyes as a fucking huge smile spread across my face. Birdie looked at me with an equally big smile, his face flushed and his eyes light violet. Before I knew it, I was on the ground with Birdie in my arms. I buried my face in his shoulder and cried in happiness. Finally, I wouldn't have to get beat every day! Maybe.. maybe things would start looking up for me. And Birdie, of course. Because even if bruder didn't like it, Birdie was awesomely moving back in with us! We were tapped on the shoulders and we looked up. Ludwig and Lovino were standing over us, with frowns.

"Ah... bastardos... potato bastard and I... we're sorry"

I froze in shock. Lovino... Lovino just appologised? Was I fucking dreaming!? Mattie shifted in my arms and I made a small noise of pain. He immediately looked at me in fear and got off. I lifted my shirt to reveal the bandages, and I looked to see where it was that Birdie had hit. There was a spot that was bleeding, and it hurt like an unawesome person who'd just been beaten by an awesome person, so I guessed that was the spot. bruder and the Italian leaned down and looked at my bandaged body, grimacing with wide eyes.

"I... I did that?"

"O-oui Lovi, you did... h-his whole torso is wrapped, and his shoulders a-and arms down to his elbows"

"Holy shit... bastard... I didn't mean to hurt you that fucking bad! But your fucking dumbass fratello decided to fuck up with Feli..."

"It's fine, Lovino... the awesome me isn't dying, am I?"

"N-non, you're not... ah, Ludwig? C-can I move back in?"

Luddy seemed taken aback by the request, but he nodded anyways. We stood up and I pulled my shirt down. There was a cough behind us and Natalya was holding Elizaveta by the collar of her shirt.

"This she-devil has something to say, _da?_"

"I won't bother you again, Demon-Eyes... and I am a dirty, lying rat who sucks dick for a living. There, happy!?"

"KESESESESESESESE!"

"Da, we are happy... now get your ass out of here"

Natalya pushed the unawesome fraulein out of the way, and we sw Lilli running toward us from the corner of the school. Honestly, at this point my awesome head was spinning... everything just happened so fucking fast, the only thing I'd comprehended so far was that there was no longer any unawesome danger.

"Hi, everyone! We forgot some things at your house this morning, so we were wondering if we could get them?"

We nodded and smiled. There was a group of six walking down the street, and there were two people running at us.

"MON ANGES! COME 'ERE!"

Birdie and me looked at each other and took off running. Well... I attempted. but I had to walk after a little. We met with Francis and a girl who looked slightly familiar in the halfway point between our house of awesomeness. Francis was absolutely beaming, and so was the fraulein.

"Anges, anges! I just couldn't wait, I want you to meet this lovely petite cherie!"

The girl looked at us in shock.

"Gilbert? Matthieu?"

"JOANNE!? YOU'RE FRANCIS'S GIRLFRIEND?!"

...Well, I didn't see that one coming... Mattie walked up and looked at Joanne with a confused expression.

"M-maman...?"

"Oui... I guess... so Matthieu, you are my... step-son..."

"O-oui... a-and you are my step-mom..."

"THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME!"

Both people nodded in agreement and they hugged. Francis was looking at them with pride, like he'd just won the lottery... huh. A lot like I did with Birdie! The two stopped their hug of awesomeness and wiped tears of joy... damn everyone had cried a lot in the last five minutes!

"Ah, ange... 'ow do you know Jo?"

"She is the awesome fraulein at breakfast club who's helped the awesome us, and she was the first one to awesomely know about us... besides you and bruder"

"Bon! Oh, and Matthieu? I 'ave moved all our stuff into the new 'ouse, even though I'm guessing you want to live with Gilbert again, oui?"

"O-oui.. if that's alright, o-of course"

Francis nodded and they hugged. Birdie stepped back and grabbed my hand, giving me a kiss on the cheek. But of course, the awesome me decided to kiss him on the lips. Four people went 'aww', one person told us to get a room, and the other one just stayed silent. When we broke the kiss, both our heads were spinning slightly. Ludwig walked up and looked Francis in the eye.

"I appologise for kicking your son out... that wasn't right of me at all"

"You are forgiven... we all make mistakes, oui?"

The... shit, how many of us was there... uh, me, Francis's family, bruder, Lovino, and the two frauleins.. eight, I think. The eight of us went into Francis's house and got all of Birdie's shit, then walked back to our house of awesomeness. We brought the stuff to the basement, where everyone (but me) gasped. I smirked and kissed Birdie's hand as he touched the outline of my painted face.

"Gil... I-I think you've outdone yourself..."

"Kesese! It's because there's the overload of awesomeness there!"

"Huh... it's pretty fucking good, bastardo!"

"Mon dieu..."

"Gilbert, it's beautiful!"

"Bruder... I will never understand how you manage to do that"

I just laughed and kissed Birdie again. He gently pushed me onto the bed, and there were several catcalls... mostly from Francis, Joanne and (oddly enough) Natalya. Birdie blushed bright red and got off me.

Everyone spent the rest of the night at the house. We had a giant awesome party, and Antonio even came! There were bottles of wine for the adults, and orange juice for everyone else. We played the dancing game on the Wii, truth or dare (which ended with Lovino, me and Birdie sitting on Antonio while he was singing the Canadian anthem backwards with a Russian accent) and we had a game of twister... which was fucking hilarious, even if the awesome me couldn't play. It was about four in the morning when everyone but me and Birdie had passed out on the floor. Birdie wrapped his arms around my lower back and gently pressed against me in spots that didn't hurt (or only hurt a little).

"G-Gil... we did it"

"Awesome correction, Birdie... you did it. If it weren't for you... well, a lot of awesome things wouldn't have happened. I love you"

Birdie leaned in and whispered his reply on my lips, then kissed me. I gently leaned him down so I was on top of him and kissed him with absolutely every fiber of awesomeness in my body. We fell asleep on the twister mat, with Birdie's right foot on green and both our hearts on red.

The next day at school, we walked in the halls hand in hand. Everyone was whispering, and I'm pretty sure a few of them tried to avoid us... either word had spread about what awesomely went down, or they were still scared of Roderich. Who wasn't at school that day... kesesese! Lunch time rolled around after two periods of usual unawesomeness, and the awesome me and Birdie went to the art room. Ms Braginskaya hugged us both, and it was sort of awkward... you know, the giant bazungas... she got the memo and let go, choosing instead to smile at us and get us to sit on a desk.

"Matvey! I saw what happened yesterday... I have to say, I am quite proud of you. And Gilbert, your backpack is in the back corner"

"M-merci... but there won't be a repeat p-performance... being that angry didn't feel so good"

There were two knocks on the door, and it opened to reveal Lovino and bruder. They sat on the desks beside us and the Ukrainian teached smiled at them both.

"So... you are not going to hurt them anymore?"

"Si... we're here to ask Maple bastard and potato bastard number two if we can be friends... even though all the shit happened and potato bastard's ribs aren't exactly in mint fucking condition.."

Birdie and I looked at each other, then nodded. We spent the rest of lunch time in the art room, and the rest of the school day absolutely flew by. When we got home, we immediately went to the basement. I didn't care if I was hurt, I was still going to cuddle with Birdie! We took off our shirts and layed on the bed. Birdie snuggled up to me and smiled.

"Gil... I think... I-I think we were meant for each other... because none of our problems would have been s-solved if we hadn't met each other..."

It was an obvious observation (try saying that ten times fast!) but I nodded anyways. I pulled Birdie to my chest and smiled. Really, it felt like... it felt like I was living for the first time, in an awesome way. The two Ghost Boys had finally become human, I guess... and as long as we were together, I didn't care what anyone called us. We were safe, and we had both found an awesome person to love us... and considering how bad both our lives were just a couple weeks ago, it was pretty damned awesome.

(AN: And that is it for the actual story! I hope you all enjoyed, and I'm sorry if things didn't flow in some parts... this was the hardest chapter to write. Anyways, the Christmas chapter will be up whenever I write it, so keep watch. Definitely before Christmas, though. Merci beaucoup!)


	39. Bonus Christmas Chapter

It was Christmas Eve, and everyone was excited. There was a thick blanket of snow on the ground, and so much ice on the sidewalk that you could skate on it. We'd been off school for a few days now, and you could feel the awesomeness in the air! Birdie and me`s just woken up and were now getting dressed.

"Gil, y-you're wearing my sweater"

I looked down to see that Birdie was right, I was wearing mein awesome liebe's sweater.. I was wondering why it was too small! I thought I just randomly hit a growth spurt or something. Chuckling I took it off and threw it at Birdie, who caught it and put it on. I turned to ask him something, but there was suddenly pants on my face.

"You really want me to throw my boxers at you, don't ya?"

"Non... b-but just remember if y-you do, I can return fire"

"Didn't you go commando last night?"

"Gil!"

"Kesesesese!"

We finished getting dressed and walked upstairs hand in hand. Luddy was standing there with his..._girlfriend,_ Amelia. Who the awesome me hates. She is so annoying, it's like she's the female version of Birdie's bruder. It's a damned good thing she's a girl... or maybe she's not and it actually is Alfred in disguise! He... she... it... it better not try anything.

"Good morning bruder, Mat. The gifts are in the kitchen, so get them and let's go to Mr Bonnefoy's house"

Francis and Joanne had invites the four of us, Feli, Ivan, Lovino and Antonio for a Christmas sleepover! We'd all gotten each other gifts, but the couples had gotten each other two gifts instead of one. I got Birdie a new writing book and I drew some stuff on the back of the cover. I also got him a new sweater with maple leafs in a swirling pattern on it.

We walked to the kitchen and grabbed the gifts. There was quite a few of them; it was hard to carry them all. Even for the two most awesome people on earth! When Luddy and his girlfriend were out the door with the food we'd made, I set the presents down and took Birdie's from his arms. Then I kissed him, slow and sweet. He practically melted in my arms, sighing in pleasure when I started rubbing his sides. when we were both breathless we pulled away. I kissed down Birdie's neck and smiled against his collarbone.

"This'll be the first awesome holiday we've spent together"

"O-oui... I-I hope we have fun"

"Birdie, there's going to be ten people in the house. If that doesn't spell fun then we al need to go watch Spongebob, kesesese!

I lifted my head and hugged him close to my chest. It wasn't until bruder came back to see what was keeping us that we finally let go of each other.

"Save the cuddling and kissing for when we get to the other house, ja? Hurry up and pick the presents up, we're going to be late"

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed most of the presents and Birdie's hand. He carried the remaining boxes and kissed the awesome me on the cheek. I gave him a quick peck on the lips and we walked out the door. Francis's house wasn't far, only a five minute walk from our house. When we got there the Frenchman greeted us at the door and took the presents. Joanne came and hugged each of us, saving me and Birdie for last. Since she'd become Birdie's mother figure and she'd heard everything that Birdie and Francis went through, she'd been even more supportive of me and Birdie dating. She said we were perfect for each other. But the awesome me already knew that! There isn't one person on this earth who could be more perfect for me than Mattie is. Everyone else was already in the living room, making quiet conversation. Feli bounded up and hugged us.

"Ve, bonjourno! It's good to se you again, everybody!"

"Ja, it is! How've you been, Feli?"

"He has been well, da?"

Ivan hugged Feli from behind and looked at us with a creepy smile. I hugged Birdie in the same way and glared, hoping to get him to back off. Even though Ivan was dating Feli, I was still not convinced he wouldn't try anything with mein liebe. The cheery Italian was clueless, however, and just smiled. They went back to the one empty cushion on the couches. Everyone else just waved or said hallo from the couch. Probably because they knew if they left their cushion, the awesome me would claim it in the name of awesomeness, kesesese! I sat on the floor and pulled Birdie in my lap. He snuggled against my chest, even though everyone was watching. He'd become less shy about affection while other people were there which was awesome because I could give him all my love all the time then!

"POTATO FUCKING BASTARD NUMBER TWO!"

I jumped a little as I heard my... name, I guess... called.

"What?!"

"When's yours and Matteo's one month anniversary again?"

"It's next week, why?"

"Because I am staying far away from your house. Maple bastard's told me what you're allowed to do after one month"

"Ja, but only if Birdie wants it"

"C-can we please not t-take about that... p-please?"

I looked down and kissed Birdie on the cheek.

"Sorry liebling... so, who failed exams, kesesese!"

A few people discretely put up their hand. Birdie tried to but I put it back down for him. The guy's too fucking smart to fail any class. Bruder smirked and kept his hand down while holding Amelia's up. Somehow she didn't notice... she was too busy looking in the kitchen for a hot dog. I swear, those things are her life force. She eats them so much I don't know how bruder can stand the hotdog breath! Francis walked back in and hugged both me and Birdie from behind. I smirked and held Birdie a little tighter so Francis could hugs us better.

"Bonjour mon anges! 'ow are you this fine 'oliday season?"

"W-we're good, Papa... h-how's you and Joanne?"

"Honhon, we are trés bon! So, what 'ave you got planned for your anniversary?"

"Ah, we're probably just going to stay home and awesomely cuddle"

"Hm... well, mon amour et moi got something for you both, and pour us... you will like it, I promise"

A wink accompanied that, before the oldest blond stood up straight and looked around. Everyone was either chatting or (in me and Birdie's case) just holding each other. It probably seemed pretty awesome from his point of view.

"Mon amis! Would you like to play Twister?"

"FICK JA! Oops... sorry Birdie, kesese!"

I... heh, I kinda scared Birdie with my sudden yelling... he jumped right out of my arms and onto the floor. He looked at me for a split second, with an evil smirk. He then tackled me and straddled my stomache, looking down at me with a fake innocent smile for a few seconds. He turned his head to look at everyone once I was effectively worried.

"Gil volunteered to be the s-spinner person f-first"

...Birdie can be very mean when he wants to be. Sighing, I sat up and caught Birdie just as he was about to land on the floor.

"Fine. But Birdie's being the next spinner person!"

And so, it was decided. We decided to pit couple against couple, though that was probably unfair. When both me and Birdie were playing, it was two awesome people against two unawesome people? Psht. The awesome me and Birdie won almost every round, but... Francis and Joanne proved to be fucking flexible. They won that round, but only because I was bent so far over I thought I'd snap. Birdie was twisted so his hands were crossed under him and I was almost directly on top of him. I don't know who collapsed first, but suddenly Birdie and I were in a very... interesting position on the mat. I rolled off of him and pulled him with me so Francis and Joanne could untwist themselves.

The games continued like that, with the French couple kicking major ass. I don't think anyone beat them! After we did that, someone had brought over a dancing game. When Birdie started I immediately crossed my legs, just for good measure. And thank gott I did! Birdie is one hell of a good dancer...

"F-Francis, where's your bathroom?"

"But Gil, I-I'm not done yet!"

"First door on the left when you go up the stairs... don't be too loud, honhonhon!"

After that little incident of massive teasing, we played board games. Bruder failed at Life, kesesesesese! Birdie was pretty awesome in his RV and the awesome me had just an average home. But in it (in my awesome mind) there were several paintings on the wall of me and Birdie so it was okay. There was suddenly a really good smell, and we all knew what that meant!

We all managed to fit at the dinner table, though Lovino had to sit on Antonio's lap. Francis brought over the food and it was... it was like I died for three seconds and went to food heaven! It was kind of buffet style, so we had to get up and get what we wanted. I took most of the wurst, leaving... two for Luddy. Feli and Birdie devoured the ham, and Ivan claimed the sweet potatoes. Not even my awesomeness could get them back. After we'd all ate our fill, there was pie. Pumpkin pie, apple pie and banana cream, along with whipped cream and icecream.

I don't know who started it but suddenly, there was a whipped cream fight and it was going everywhere. I guarded Birdie and acted as a meat shied, so when the white stuff stopped flying he only had a little on his sweater... while if my eyes weren't open and I was standing in front of a white wall, you wouldn't be able to find me. Birdie took me in the living room and got most of it off my face and hands. But I had to take off my shirt, considering it was once red and was now white as my skin. As soon as it was off I got a hug from Birdie as thanks for protecting him. I hugged back and pressed my cheek against his soft hair, smiling and closing my eyes. When I finally opened them again everyone was standing in the doorway, looking at us and smiling. I turned so they wouldn't see Birdie and quietly told him they were there. He turned me back around and kissed me in front of them... I think there were pictures taken. Someone threw a shirt at me in the middle of the kiss, but I threw it back and cupped Birdie's cheek, deepening the kiss slightly.

When we finally broke apart, everyone piled in the living room and there was a scramble for the cushions. I jumped on one and pulled Birdie with me, claiming it in the name of awesomeness! We played random games and sung random carols until it was one in the morning. Half of us were passed out anyways, so the remaining five of us got blankets and turned out the lights. Birdie and me somehow managed to kick Lovino and Antonio off the cushion beside us so we could lay down and cuddle before sleeping. Birdie layed down on his back and I was on my side between him and the couch. I kissed his neck and smiled.

"Ich liebe dich, mein awesome vogel"

"Je t'aime a-aussi, mon ange"

We kissed again, this time somehow slower and even sweeter than the last. I went on top of Birdie and started rubbing his sides. Mattie smiled and opened his mouth a little for me, so our tongues could get reaquainted with each other, kesese! After... probably an hour of cuddling and kissing, we fell asleep. I used Mattie as a pillow and kind of a mattress, because he was comfy. And he could hold my weight. When I woke up, everyone was already up (or at least half awake) and there was a massive pile of presents under the tree!

"Liebling, wake up! It's Christmas morning, and there's a hell of a lot of presents to open!"

"Naoidujfnvsidbvsdihv"

"I'll give you a goodmorning kiss"

Birdie's eyes flew open and he pulled me down for another kiss. I heard a few other people kissing and I smiled because theirs couldn't be as amazing as a kiss from Birdie. I told mein liebe that and he hugged me, a blush on his face (making him look fucking adorable).

"Is everyone up now?"

"Ja, everyone is up- where's bruder and Amelia?"

"They 'ad to go back to the 'ouse for something"

I facepalmed at bruder and sat up, pulling Mattie with me and wrapping the blanket around us. He sat in my lap and rested his head on my collarbone.

"Okay, so. Everyone got gifts from each other and from Santa! I will 'and them out... after you all put on these!"

Francis put a box in the middle filled with Christmas hats. I grabbed a Santa hat and put it on, smirking down at Birdie.

"Wanna be my reindeer, vogel?"

He reached in the box and pulled out an antlers head-thing and put it on. Fuck, he looked cute...

"Gil?"

"What? Ja?"

"L-liking what you're seeing?"

"Ja, liebling... you're adorable"

He shrugged and smiled in response. I held Mattie close and he rested one hand around my shoulders; the other was around my waist. Francis gave out the gifts one by one to everyone. He saved the couple's gifts to each other for last though. Probably in hopes that Luddy and his annoying girl would be back soon... which they weren't.

When Birdie opened his gifts from me I got so many kisses it left me dizzy, kesesese! I opened Birdie's gift to me and... he got me a new sketchpad and a Halestorm CD... and I may have gone overboard with the kissing too, but that was okay, Everyone else was going overboard, so what did it matter?

"Gilbert, Mattheiu!"

"Ja?"

"You also get another gift from me et mon amour"

We looked expectantly at the french people, who shared a knowing smile.

"You are coming with us on vacation to France!"

Birdie leapt from the couch, over several heads and into his father's arms without hurting anyone... and that's the power of awesomeness!

"P-papa, you're s-serious right?"

"Oui! Consider it your one month anniversary gift to each other, onhonhonhon!"

I walked over to Joanne and hugged her while Birdie was busy with his dad. Feli bounded over and joined the hug, with Antonio not far behind. They convinced their boyfriends to join, and suddenly it was a group hug! Amelia and bruder walked in the door and joined the hug. Luddy never hugged anyone, so this was a Christmas miracle! We told them what we were hugging about and I swear bruder could kiss Francis. It was a chance for him and Amelia to be alone in the house, without me walking in on them (I couldn't look at Luddy for a week after that... thank gott I had Birdie with me or I'd go insane...).

They opened their gifts and had the same reaction as everyone else. After that, everyone sat on the floor and we watched the Christmas specials on TV. Garfield was my favourite, because he's just the most awesome fat cat ever! It was well past seven before we finally tore ourselves away from the screen and ran into the kitchen where somehow... the food was even better than yesterday. Proven by the fact Lovino fainted when he got a good smell of everything. It was kind of funny, though Birdie and Antonio were freaking out. When he finally woke up, we started eating. This time there wasn't a foodfight, which disappointed me slightly. I wanted to get retribution for that giant glob of whipped cream that was thrown at my face yesterday!

The food was finished (literally... there were no leftovers at all) and the gifts were all open. Since we all had a significant other, the couples just cuddled and did their thing until they had to leave. Soon it was just Birdie, me Francis and Joanne. I shifted Birdie in my lap and smiled.

"You wanna just sleep here for the night? I think you have a bedroom..."

"O-oui, I do, but the bed's not as big a-as ours at home"

"That's a problem why? We just have to snuggle closer, kesesese!"

Birdie nodded and pressed a little harder against me. I smiled and kissed his shoulder. I couldn't wait to do this at school, where Pukerich and his demon whore were out of the picture and out of the country! They moved to Austria, and the whole school celebrated. Well... a few of us wore party hats... but that's still celebrating!

"Gilbert, I think 'e is asleep"

I looked down to see mein awesome vogel passed out, with the antlers still on. I carefully took those off of him and took off my Santa hat, throwing them to Francis. I stood up and carried Birdie upstairs, setting him on the bed and climbing next to him. Birdie opened his eyes and looked at me with a loving, beautiful smile.

"Gil... I-I love you, and I will love y-you forever. Merry Christmas"

I smiled and climbed on top of Birdie, stroking his face with my thumb.

"I love you too, Matthew... forever and always. Merry Christmas"

Our lips touched, and I smiled again. This had been a damned awesome Christmas, and there would be many more to enjoy with the awesome guy under me... I was, and I still am certain that we will spend forever together. As Birdie fell asleep, I slid to his side and held him close to my chest. I looked down into his peaceful, sleeping face and smiled. It would always be a merry Christmas as long as I had my beautiful, awesome Mattie with me.

((AN: There we are, the story is officially finished! Happy holidays to everyone, and thank you so much to everyone who followed and/or favourited this... those are like mini Christmas presents in themselves :D))


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